School busses dropping off kids far from home?

[tethermagee]

I think having other kids to walk with is a positive, rather than a negative. We walked a couple of miles to school when I was in K. There were many kids walking, it was a time to talk with friends, etc.

 

[McKelly]

I am sure they do this for budget reasons. Our district started with this type of thing.......one bus stop for many kids, but they had to walk upwards of only 1/4 mile.

Now, because our referendum didn't pass, bussing is being eliminated all together, except for special needs. Wisconsin here, I hear you with the cold winters..........but unfortunately, some people are selfish/not informed and now major cuts have to be made and our kids will suffer. I don't sound bitter do I? And my kids don't even take the bus!!

 

[tethermagee]

but unfortunately, some people are selfish/not informed and now major cuts have to be made and our kids will suffer.

Or just plain poor.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

It's also incredibly inconvenient for the moms like me, who have younger children who like to take naps in the afternoons or sleep a bit later in the mornings. It would be great just to meet ds out in our driveway!

Any thoughts or insight?

Your personal convenience is definitely not the point to bring up to your BOE. They will Budgets are getting tighter and tighter and this is positively their last priority.
In our town anyone who lives less than 2 miles is a walker unless they must cross a major road. This hasn't changed since I was a kid and growing up here too. There were no shelters, etc while waiting for the bus. We used umbrellas when it rained and bundled up when it was cold. That's life and we all survived. Kids can easily play for hours in the snow if they're dressed properly. If you don't want your child to endure such hardships drive him yourself.

Safety is important so that's one point I agree with you. Kids shouldn't have to walk in the street so I'd meet with your condo association to discuss allowing the bus to enter for this reason and at the same time maybe take photos, with parent's permission, of kids walking in the street. Present this to your BOE. Having other parents in your neighborhood unite and agree with you will help your case. If only 1 parent see the current situation as a problem they may not act but if 80 moms and dads show up you have a much better chance of them taking action.
If you hit a brick wall with the BOE, try going back to your association and see if they can install sidewalks. At least it will give them a safe place to walk.
good luck!

 

[WantToGoNow]

My son is 7 and in the 2nd grade. His bus drops him off 2 houses away. I let him walk there by himself (he plays further than that). There are a couple of mothers that walk their kids the 3-4 houses to the bus stop. I don't think I would be comfortable myself with young children being dropped a mile or more from home. Our road was being repaved a month ago and the bus dropped the kids off on another street - 1/2 mile or so away without even letting us know they were doing it. There were quite a few angry parents about that.

Instead of going to the school board meeting, how about going to the property owners first and see if they will give permission for the buses to come in.

 

[McKelly]

Or just plain poor.

No, these same people will not even blink an eye at spending $400.00 on Packer tickets and drinking $8.00 beers, but SCREAM about an additional $7.00 a month on their real estate taxes. That is not poor, that is messed up priorities. Like I said, bitter.

 

[Kies99]

When I lived in a townhouse community, I was on the community board.

The big issue is that the roads are usually "owned" by the townhome community, not the municipality in which you live. Therefore the roads are considered private and the busses would need permission to drive on them. This would possibly mean a vote and update to the community bylaws to allow for access.

The problem you may run into is that there may only be a handful of parents in the community and the rest of the residents will not want the busses on the street.

While I was on the board, we tried like crazy to "give" the roads to the municipality and couldn't. The townhouses were too close to the street and therefore didn't make "code". We wanted to give it to the municipality so that we would not have to pay them to repair the road, plow snow, etc...

I'd suggest you go to the board and see what they have to say. There's not much you can do otherwise.

As an aside, the house I'm in now has a stop sign in the front yard and a big bay window in front. The bus drops my kids (grades K and 1) off right at my driveway and I don't even have to go outside. With winter upon us it's nice!!

 

[mjkacmom]

There are no buses here. Kids walk to school every day, or take public transportation.

What is wrong with walking with other kids?

Same here - we don't have buses, because all the schools are within a mile. I walked to school, and now my kids walk to school. I think it's great!

 

[tethermagee]

Same here - we don't have buses, because all the schools are within a mile. I walked to school, and now my kids walk to school. I think it's great!

Think of the exercise they get every day! Good for you guys!

 

[tethermagee]

No, these same people will not even blink an eye at spending $400.00 on Packer tickets and drinking $8.00 beers, but SCREAM about an additional $7.00 a month on their real estate taxes. That is not poor, that is messed up priorities. Like I said, bitter.

Everyone in your area can afford tickets like that? In that case, they can afford to drive their kids to school.

 

[Starr W.]

My DD5 gets picked up at the top of our driveway for kindergarten. But that will change when she goes to middle school. Then she'll have to walk 3/4 of a mile on a narrow winding street to the end to catch the bus.
We have no sidewalks, or streetlights. So in the winter- mornings she'll be hoofing it in the dark (7:30 am pick up).
I already know that I am going to be making a complaint to the school and bus company. My argument is that there are no sidewalks for her to safely stay off the road.
The bus will be coming down our street!
I feel your anxiety! With all the concern about keeping our kids safe- it does seem odd that it's acceptable to drop kids off so far from their homes.
How does that work for kindergarten? I know our district, also CT, will not drop a kindergarten child off the bus unless a parent is there.
Interesting question!
-Sarah

Wow 7:30 am pick up for middle school? Ours starts at 7:25am. Don't even ask what time the JR/HS bus comes in our neighborhood(6:45am). Some of my son's friends it's earlier. Hence why most kids get dropped off in the morning. School opens it's door's at 7, so most parents just drop them off on the way to work.

I knew the bus schedule yrs ago and just planned on driving DS to school when he got to 6th grade. He get's out at 2:10pm(6th grade) and I pick him up. We get home about 2:25pm. If he rode the bus, it drops him at the entrance to the subdivision at 2:50pm.

I'm still trying to figure out why our elementary bus, picks up 3 kids for the Catholic school(our district has dedicated buses for them, including one that pretty much shadows our bus). .

This is a really touchy subject in our district, providing transportation(which I think the private schools pay for and there are quite a few many K-8 elementary and all the Catholic HS's in the area, I think the state may require it). If we didn't provide that there would be buses that could be sold or better service for our students.

 

[lurkernj]

Our town is about 1.5 square mile and has no busses at all until the kids reach high school (we don't have our own high school so they get bussed to another town). I drove my kids during their K-3rd years as most parents did at those ages, even had to wake the younger one up in order to get the older ones. From 4th- 8th, they walk. Their school is about 10 blocks from our house. I work full time, so they even have to walk in the rain, snow, and cold unless they can pilfer a ride from another parent. Builds character.

When my older one goes to high school next year, he will need to walk to/from bus stop, I believe there are only 3 in town. The pickup is around 7am and should be about 8 blocks from our house. I might feel sorry for him and take him there at that hour especially in cold/wet weather or I might not.

 

[emh1129]

Your personal convenience is definitely not the point to bring up to your BOE. They will Budgets are getting tighter and tighter and this is positively their last priority.
In our town anyone who lives less than 2 miles is a walker unless they must cross a major road. This hasn't changed since I was a kid and growing up here too. There were no shelters, etc while waiting for the bus. We used umbrellas when it rained and bundled up when it was cold. That's life and we all survived. Kids can easily play for hours in the snow if they're dressed properly. If you don't want your child to endure such hardships drive him yourself.

Safety is important so that's one point I agree with you. Kids shouldn't have to walk in the street so I'd meet with your condo association to discuss allowing the bus to enter for this reason and at the same time maybe take photos, with parent's permission, of kids walking in the street. Present this to your BOE. Having other parents in your neighborhood unite and agree with you will help your case. If only 1 parent see the current situation as a problem they may not act but if 80 moms and dads show up you have a much better chance of them taking action.
If you hit a brick wall with the BOE, try going back to your association and see if they can install sidewalks. At least it will give them a safe place to walk.
good luck!

Oh, you're right. I wouldn't ever bring the convenience issue up to them. I meant that more of a side note.. it would just be an added bonus.
The real issue is safety. I always pick up my child from the bus stop and it takes us so long to get home because of all the kids walking in the street. I have to drive at a snail's pace because I'm always afraid one of them will walk right in front of the car, which has happened on more than one occasion.
All of the other parents seem on board, I'm just not sure if I have the time/energy to really put into this I'm wondering how it's not seen as a liability, though. I mean, just in the last six months there have been two attempted child abductions in eastern CT (that I know of, it could be more). And here we are dropping children off on the side of a busy street and letting them walk 1- 1.5 miles to get to their houses. I can see what some of you are saying- if the parents of those children aren't concerned, why should I be? I'm taking care of my own son and that's all I can do, I suppose.

I think I might do as you suggest and ask about the sidewalks. That would really help..

 

[Schmeck]

I'm in MA, and in our town, kindergarteners have to be dropped of at their door if the parents request it. - Check your school handbook to see if something similar is printed.

I live in MA too, and boy do I hate this - seems the bus stops every few feet to let another kid off. Kids can't seem to walk one block out of their way these days!

Buses are not allowed on privately owned roads in my town, no matter if the association says they can enter or not. How about asking the association to build a bus shelter?

 

[emh1129]

I live in MA too, and boy do I hate this - seems the bus stops every few feet to let another kid off. Kids can't seem to walk one block out of their way these days!

Buses are not allowed on privately owned roads in my town, no matter if the association says they can enter or not. How about asking the association to build a bus shelter?

There are probably about 40 children, so I'm not sure how feasible that is. Ideally, I'd like to see them do one stop on each road, so instead of one stop, there would be three. But they may not be allowed to enter, as with your town.

 

[ajk912]

I see no reason why kids can't walk a mile. After being cooped up in school all day, they really could use the exercise!! I have three kids, and we voluntarily walk home from school everyday instead of driving or riding the bus. They NEED the exercise otherwise they are bouncing off the walls at home! A mile isn't that bad! I can't help with the nap schedule..I would like to take a nap in the afternoon though. Maybe try adjusting the little ones' sleep schedules a few minutes each day till they are on the schedule you would like?

I do feel bad for the kids who have to walk by themselves, though. That kind of annoys me when I see it. I am sure there are extenuating circumstances, but in my mind all I am thinking is mom/dad/ whoever is the guardian of the moment is too busy doing whatever to walk their kid to/from the bus stop. Even us adults can use the exercise, too!

 

[Poohbug]

I live in MA too, and boy do I hate this - seems the bus stops every few feet to let another kid off. Kids can't seem to walk one block out of their way these days!

Right now my kids get picked up at the end of our driveway but this may change because of people complaining about getting behind a bus and having to wait for each stop. I can see if there are multiple stops in a short distance but for the bus stop to be a mile away sounds excessive. I know the walk is good exercise but it can be a pain when you have younger children and in the cold of winter. I am not going to let me kindergardner walk that alone or even with his brother. I would think that bus stops could be within 1/2 mile of your home.

 

[emh1129]

I see no reason why kids can't walk a mile. After being cooped up in school all day, they really could use the exercise!! I have three kids, and we voluntarily walk home from school everyday instead of driving or riding the bus. They NEED the exercise otherwise they are bouncing off the walls at home! A mile isn't that bad! I can't help with the nap schedule..I would like to take a nap in the afternoon though. Maybe try adjusting the little ones' sleep schedules a few minutes each day till they are on the schedule you would like?

I do feel bad for the kids who have to walk by themselves, though. That kind of annoys me when I see it. I am sure there are extenuating circumstances, but in my mind all I am thinking is mom/dad/ whoever is the guardian of the moment is too busy doing whatever to walk their kid to/from the bus stop. Even us adults can use the exercise, too!

I love to take long walks, too. But to see kids with heavy backpacks and musical instruments having to hoof it for over a mile in the bitter cold is just... sad.

The nap thing really isn't a big deal.. our baby is the youngest of three, so she's learned to go with the flow, so to speak She has learned to catch naps when she can, usually in the car!

 

[SleepyatDVC]

I agree it might be a cost and time saving measure. I just think that there are places to cut corners in order to trim the budget and I'm not sure that this should be one of them.

I'm actually not sure if there are any 'walkers.' Would they let k/1/2 kids leave the school alone to walk a mile home? I'd be surprised if that was the case.

Kids are allowed to walk home by themselves starting in the 3rd grade in NYC. Before then they have to be picked up or you have to arrange for some sort of afterschool program (paid) to pick them up. I hire a nanny to pick up the kids (7 & 9) from school everyday. I still wouldn't let my 4th grader walk home in NYC by herself.

No buses if under a certain distance.

 

[princessmom29]

I just can't see picking up every child at their house. It is just a logistics nightmare. I teach high school and we take in at 7:18. Middle schools take in at 7:25. Then those busses go make an elemetary run to drop those kids off at 8:15. If they had to pick up every elementary kid at their door the high school bus runs would have to start at least an hour earlier to make it which would mean our kids would start boarding busses before 5 am, or elementary school would not start untill 9:15 or 9:30. That would mean that it would take untill about 6:30 at night to drop everyone off. I think that the parents need to be responsible for getting their kids to and from the bus safely. If a parent in not working then they should be able to make time to go a mile to get their kid from a bus stop. If the parent is working the kids need adult supervision of some kid anyway, and that person should be getting the kids off the bus.