Auburn MA Public School Bus Fee - Update pg 13 #184

[It's A Happy Day]

This is what I have found so far on the prop. 2 1/2 thing - I will definitely need to research this more! I will need to find out specifics.

Auburn voters recently passed a proposition 2 ½ override initiative which was put forth by the Auburn Police Department in conjunction with the Auburn Schools. Due to the success of this initiative we are in the process of adding personnel (this was from the PD website just now - so I need to investigate more as to the details - I do know our taxes have doubled in 2 years!)

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

This is what I have found so far on the prop. 2 1/2 thing - I will definitely need to research this more! I will need to find out specifics.

Auburn voters recently passed a proposition 2 ½ override initiative which was put forth by the Auburn Police Department in conjunction with the Auburn Schools. Due to the success of this initiative we are in the process of adding personnel (this was from the PD website just now - so I need to investigate more as to the details - I do know our taxes have doubled in 2 years!)

Interesting! It sounds more like they did the override to get funding for something like putting DARE officer in the schools or something, though. When my old town had the override vote for busing, it was clearly stated as such. They stated which routes/grades would get their bus service cancelled if it didn't pass.

That stinks about your taxes! Our MA house wasn't ever reassessed. We had all kinds of nickel-and-dime overrides in place that caused the taxes to go up every quarter, though. I can only imagine what the new owners of that house pay now in taxes, though That's the beauty of living in FL...you can "homestead" your primary residence and fix your tax base It rocks! Between that and the lack of a state income tax, we're left with enough in our pockets to afford private school, which we never could have afforded in MA.

 

[HelenePA]

I teach in PA and all of the schools around me have "free" bussing. It is not required. School districts could cut it at anytime. This was discussed when they were trying to get all districts to vote on accepting the gambling tax money.

I'm from up the road from you and I've NEVER heard of such a thing.. paying for buses to school? paying for text books? these supply lists most of you all got?? We went to openhouse night and were told... dont send the kids with anything not even a pencil or crayon.. we'll supply it all.. this is how its always been around me.. I'm never moving! My taxes are under 1k a year also... most of your posts scare me!

 

[SplshMtn99]

Just this week here on the DIS, threads about the Sutton, MA lady with the DiaperFree article from MSN. And you from Auburn, MA in the newspaper too.

Both towns border my town. Small world.

Oxford here.

 

[PlutoGirl1117]

I was thinking the same thing! Small world! As I am not as close as you are to those towns, but I'm close! I have family in all three towns!

 

[Andrea from PA]

I sat down to catch up on my favorite boards & lo & behold, now I want to go punch something!

Paying for Buses! Paying for textbooks! Toilet Paper! This is ridiculous!

I live in PA. Our town is just about 2 square miles. As such there is no busing.

This means no free busing to private or parachial schools either.

But all the surrounding districts bus, no matter where in the district you live, buses the kids.
No distinction about the proximaty of each residence.

I cannot comprehend paying the same taxes as the guy 2 miles away in the same school district & yet not be allowed to ride the bus! You pay THE SAME taxes! Why don't they just charge you based on how much of the teachers time a child takes up with questions?! That is just as ridiculous.

 

[It's A Happy Day]

Just this week here on the DIS, threads about the Sutton, MA lady with the DiaperFree article from MSN. And you from Auburn, MA in the newspaper too.

Both towns border my town. Small world.

Oxford here.

I grew up in Oxford (1977-98)....guess I should have stayed there Lived near the no longer Joslin School and OLD Middle School.

 

[kerry34]

Its A Happy Day....I am from Auburn also. Last year was the first year we had to pay for bussing. Unfortunately it is probably unlikely that you are going to get anywhere with the issue. I found this on the school website....

The Auburn School Department will be charging an annual transportation fee of $100.00 for students who wish to take the bus transportation. A family cap of $250.00 has been approved by the School Committee. Massachusetts General Law (MGL ch.71, sec. 68) requires that school systems provide transportation to town resident students in kindergarten through grade 6 who live more than two miles from the school they attend. Students living less than two miles from the school will be given a pass on a first come first serve basis upon the availability of seats on the bus.

In order to register for bus transportation, a Transportation Application form will need to be submitted. This form is a requirement for all bus riders and must be returned No Later Than June 30, 2007 so that we may work on making the bus routes as accurate as possible.

"All students who live two miles or less from the school they attend and all students in grade 7-12, regardless of where they live, must pay the transportation fee in order to ride the bus to and from school. The transportation fee can be waived for students who are also eligible for free/reduced lunch. If you believe that you may qualify for this waiver please stop into the Superintendent’s office at 5 West Street and complete the waiver form."

Where they get you is the "two miles or less" it is over the 2 mile mark that you get it free. Somebody else I know went through this last year.

 

[elainemeyerovitz]

I'm from up the road from you and I've NEVER heard of such a thing.. paying for buses to school? paying for text books? these supply lists most of you all got?? We went to openhouse night and were told... dont send the kids with anything not even a pencil or crayon.. we'll supply it all.. this is how its always been around me.. I'm never moving! My taxes are under 1k a year also... most of your posts scare me!

I agree that the costs are spiraling like crazy. For my 2 kdg kids, it's $100 total for school fees (it will be $200 once they enter 1st and up), plus I buy all the supplies, plus they want $20 a month per child ($40 total) for MILK breaks in kdg.

Just for a half day kdg!

crazy!

 

[It's A Happy Day]

Its A Happy Day....I am from Auburn also. Last year was the first year we had to pay for bussing. Unfortunately it is probably unlikely that you are going to get anywhere with the issue. I found this on the school website....

The Auburn School Department will be charging an annual transportation fee of $100.00 for students who wish to take the bus transportation. A family cap of $250.00 has been approved by the School Committee. Massachusetts General Law (MGL ch.71, sec. 68) requires that school systems provide transportation to town resident students in kindergarten through grade 6 who live more than two miles from the school they attend. Students living less than two miles from the school will be given a pass on a first come first serve basis upon the availability of seats on the bus.

Where they get you is the "two miles or less" it is over the 2 mile mark that you get it free. Somebody else I know went through this last year.

This is the statement from the department of Education:
All children in grades kindergarten through six who reside more than two miles from the school they are entitled to attend and the nearest school bus stop is more than one mile from their residence and all children residing in regional school districts in grades kindergarten through twelve. Exceptions to this policy may be made when road conditions do not provide for the physical safety of the children and when the health of students make this service essential.

The bolded portion is my main point to the school superintendent and school committee board. It is omitted from the Auburn site but is on the State Dept. of Ed. site. The Auburn School system has come up with this obscure route no mapping system would depict so that the route follows crossing guards that are posted. I had asked the Superintendent prior the newspaper contacting him about there being no crossing guards at intersections, this was his solution. Driving the route they have come up with, measures 2.1 (confirmed on Google Earth as well, although I had to break the trip up to get it to measure it!). How can they say that a child who lives 1.89 miles (using Mapquest measurement which is the supposed method of measurement they are using) can walk over the set limit? They claim it is the shortest route shown by mapping systems and I have requested them to put this in writing with the specific route written out. As our address is already printed in the paper, I would welcome anyone to run the directions. 10 Sumner Street to 35 Swanson Road (the schools address).
Every mapping system I find puts us from Sumner to Boyce to Rockland Rd to Auburn Streets and then the remainder is 1 of 2 ways which distance/safety wise is the same.
Sumner/Boyce/Rockland is a 4 way intersection with 1 a steep hill entering it, 1 sharp corner entering it and no crossing guards at any time of day.

Rockland Rd and Auburn Street is another intersection that is not a crossing guard intersection and there are no sidewalks provided for the kids to walk on without crossing it. This is a bad enough intersection to enter in a car, not to mention as a 5 or 6 year old child on foot!

Maybe I won't win the fight but I will argue my point and try to do what I think it right by my kids. I did argue it last year and the superintendent apparently agreed when she waived the fee. I also am glad for the feedback everyone has shared. It has helped me prepare for some arguements that others may or already have brought up in this whole situation. I know everyone may not agree with me but it has not turned nasty like some threads sometimes do. Thank you all!

 

[pantherlj]

I haven't read all the posts but it is amazing how different each state is. My girls are .8 of a mile from school and get dropped off in our driveway! The stop is down the street but the bus driver last year noticed she drove right past our house so started stopping there. Kindergarten kids get driveway drop off so we get it this year again.

When I was in middle school and high school in Norfolk VA I had to walk a LOOONG way across 3 MAJOR roads (1 almost a highway) No way I would have let my kids walk - what were my parents thinking?! Of course, I would take different routes all the time and not cross at the light. Amazing that I never got hit!

I just finished buying wipes, napkins and paper towels for my girls classroom. I guess the taxes aren't being spent correctly! We have tennis balls on the wish list - the chairs scrap on the floors in the class rooms. They like to cut the balls open and stick them on the legs.

 

[kerry34]

This is the statement from the department of Education:
All children in grades kindergarten through six who reside more than two miles from the school they are entitled to attend and the nearest school bus stop is more than one mile from their residence and all children residing in regional school districts in grades kindergarten through twelve. Exceptions to this policy may be made when road conditions do not provide for the physical safety of the children and when the health of students make this service essential.

The bolded portion is my main point to the school superintendent and school committee board. It is omitted from the Auburn site but is on the State Dept. of Ed. site. The Auburn School system has come up with this obscure route no mapping system would depict so that the route follows crossing guards that are posted. I had asked the Superintendent prior the newspaper contacting him about there being no crossing guards at intersections, this was his solution. Driving the route they have come up with, measures 2.1 (confirmed on Google Earth as well, although I had to break the trip up to get it to measure it!). How can they say that a child who lives 1.89 miles (using Mapquest measurement which is the supposed method of measurement they are using) can walk over the set limit? They claim it is the shortest route shown by mapping systems and I have requested them to put this in writing with the specific route written out. As our address is already printed in the paper, I would welcome anyone to run the directions. 10 Sumner Street to 35 Swanson Road (the schools address).
Every mapping system I find puts us from Sumner to Boyce to Rockland Rd to Auburn Streets and then the remainder is 1 of 2 ways which distance/safety wise is the same.
Sumner/Boyce/Rockland is a 4 way intersection with 1 a steep hill entering it, 1 sharp corner entering it and no crossing guards at any time of day.

Rockland Rd and Auburn Street is another intersection that is not a crossing guard intersection and there are no sidewalks provided for the kids to walk on without crossing it. This is a bad enough intersection to enter in a car, not to mention as a 5 or 6 year old child on foot!

Maybe I won't win the fight but I will argue my point and try to do what I think it right by my kids. I did argue it last year and the superintendent apparently agreed when she waived the fee. I also am glad for the feedback everyone has shared. It has helped me prepare for some arguements that others may or already have brought up in this whole situation. I know everyone may not agree with me but it has not turned nasty like some threads sometimes do. Thank you all!

It is interesting to me (and so typical) that they would leave the safety isssue out of thier statement. We are just about neighbors by the way. I am off Rockland, just before where rockland and boyce intersect. There is certainly no way any small child could ever walk that distance to Bryn Mawr. Last year I drove my kids. From our driveway to the driveway at Bryn Mawr it is just about 1.7 miles. Two years ago I went through a bit of the same thing, but it was before we had to pay for the bus. The middle school said that my daughter lived too close to the school to take the bus and I did the same thing as you and tracked the mileage. They didnt give me any hassle once I did it, but again that was before they charged money. Anyhow good luck and I hope you can get some resolution. I reluctantly paid the money for the bus this year but am not in a situation to complain since I have five kids being bussed. Thank god for us there is a cap or there is no way I would pay 500.00/year.

 

[sk!mom]

Seriously, if you are home and can drive them, why would you want them on a school bus? School bus problems are well documented.

DH or I were lucky enough to be able to drive our son through middle school and most of the time in High School and we gladly did so. Last week I started picking DD up from middle school and I'm happy about it.

I'm all for fighting injustice but if they apply this rule equally then you aren't being treated unfairly.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

you are lucky you are provided that option. In my county, if you are in any grade level, k-12 and under 2 miles, you walk it.. there is no bus transportation.. however, over 2 miles, there will be a bus and it is free...

 

[A Mickeyfan]

here is a link I found that is for anyone...they can look up their state and see what their rules should be...

http://www.stnonline.com/stn/statesprovinces/unitedstates/annual_formula.htm

 

[BibidiWannabe]

Seriously, if you are home and can drive them, why would you want them on a school bus? School bus problems are well documented.

It depends also where you are, how big the school system is, and age of your kids. In our town the grades are split up grades k-2, grades 3-5, grades 6-8, etc. So far we have had no problems and I think that since we live in a big development, we can have just one bus for our neigborhood so most kids know each other pretty well already so it becomes more social than anything else. My kids love taking the bus. If I happen to be in their class volunteering and it's dismissal time, and I give them the option to drive home with me or take the bus, they always choose the bus over cabmommy. I am sure that will change when they get into highschool.

 

[HeatherC]

I'm also next door in Charlton. My neighbors and I have been arguing for our middle school bus to come into our neighborhood to pick up the kids. Elementary bus already does. So this means that we have been in close contact with the superintendents office.

Long story short....we have spoken to our finance director who is in charge of our schools budgeting and have been very impressed. He stated that as long as he is in the office in the Dudley Charlton school district, there will be no fee for bussing. We also don't pay any fees for sports at the middle schools like other towns. Our PTO also supplies most of the school supplies for the students so we never get those huge school supply lists which can cost a bloody fortune. It's not perfect, but I do think they are trying to do things efficiently and right.

In addition, our taxes are not necessarily any higher than any other towns around us. (I pay $3200 on a 2900 sq ft house on an acre and a quarter of land..to give an example.)

I am convinced that it is the people who are in these positions that are either handling the money well or not. From what I have been hearing about Auburn (from people who live there), there is definitely a problem with the school administration.

Last year it was the big to do over people having to pay for the full day kindergarten. That caused quite an uproar and left many people frustrated with the administration.

Wasn't there also some controversy with the new high school and how the costs of that got out of control?


Why can't these committees and government offices get it right? It's sad because people like you and me and all of us have to pay for their ineptitude. Drives me crazy.

Good luck to you.

Heather

 

[Mickey Fliers]

I have been following your saga and truly feel for you. However, maybe I have missed it, but why can't you drive them to school? I do understand your argument, but if it were me, I would just be driving them back and forth to school. I hate school buses.

BTW, I grew up in Sturbridge

 

[It's A Happy Day]

I have been following your saga and truly feel for you. However, maybe I have missed it, but why can't you drive them to school? I do understand your argument, but if it were me, I would just be driving them back and forth to school. I hate school buses.

BTW, I grew up in Sturbridge

I could drive them to school for the most part but I work 2 jobs (1 nights and weekends and the other 1 days) and in the instance of the day job, I had set up my hours before the school year (thinking this was all set!) as 8-11AM. If I have to drive both children to the same school I would be working about 8:15-10:45 on those days and then I would need to either work more days to make up my hours or provide some daycare option for my daughter after 11:00 when she gets out so I could go back to work (and yeah, we have to pay for the full kindergarten option). By getting them on the bus at 7:50 (the regular bus stop IS the end of our driveway!) I can be to work at 8:00 and I wouldn't have to get DD off the bus around 11:20-11:30 so I could work the full 3 hours per day. Also, the kids want to take the bus. As a PP said, her kids would regularly choose the bus over momtaxi.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Massachusetts General Law (MGL ch.71, sec. 68) requires that school systems provide transportation to town resident students in kindergarten through grade 6 who live more than two miles from the school they attend. Students living less than two miles from the school will be given a pass on a first come first serve basis upon the availability of seats on the bus.

Interesting... what about the students who live EXACTLY two miles from the school? They're not addressed in the above General Law... note that I'm not referring to the Auburn Schools website, which has a different interpretation of the actual law. Under that law, two-mile students are not addressed and technically, Auburn can't automatically include them in the grouping of its convenience.

By getting them on the bus at 7:50 (the regular bus stop IS the end of our driveway!)

Well, now, wait a minute - exactly the end of your driveway, or just before your driveway, or just a teeny tiny eentsy weentsy itty bitty little bit closer to the school than your driveway. Because, unless it's the latter, and the bus is a tenth of a mile long, the school's argument doesn't hold water. Oh, wait - unless your driveway is on the far side of your house, away from the school, and your front door is closer to the school?