Bus transportation costs -- lower them

[old timer]

The Lawrence school board cut all transportation to elementary and junior high students who live 2.5 miles or closer to their school.

There's a thought ... hey usd 443 -- check out:
School district cuts bus routes that served more than 1,000 students / LJWorld.com

[sunshine]

andover schools just passed this:
live inside 2.5 miles, and you get charged for bussing: $100 for one child and $150 for family.
it you live outside of the 2.5 it is still free because of federal money received for this.

[TheWizzard]

Isnt it already that way in Dodge??? What I mean by that is... kids that live within the 2 1/2 mile mark are NOT allowed to ride the bus, unless they qualify for Special Education.

"The Lawrence school board cut all transportation to elementary and junior high students who live 2.5 miles or closer to their school."


The way I read that was that they have been charging to transport children that live within the 2.5 mile zone. Now they have decided to not transport those students even if they pay. Since the state does not reimburse any money for students within that zone they have decided to cut it out all together. That is a great idea. In Dodge they do not transport children within that 2.5 zone so there is nothing to cut out. As far as what the rest of that article said about students having to cross the highway in some cases to get to school without adding crossing guards sounds irresponsible.
The cost of fuel and how far a student lives from school will mean nothing compared to the cost when a student looses their life trying to go to school.
The idea of saving money is understandable, but at what cost??
Just my opinion.

[Bubba]

Isnt it already that way in Dodge??? What I mean by that is... kids that live within the 2 1/2 mile mark are NOT allowed to ride the bus, unless they qualify for Special Education...

Yes and no. I think the rule states over 2.5 miles from where you go to school. There may be a school within 2.5 miles of where they live, but for some reason they may not be allowed to attend that school.

What needs to happen is that children should be required to attend the school closest to where they live. Then we should set up busing rules according to that information.

[DCFan]

Yes and no. I think the rule states over 2.5 miles from where you go to school. There may be a school within 2.5 miles of where they live, but for some reason they may not be allowed to attend that school.

What needs to happen is that children should be required to attend the school closest to where they live. Then we should set up busing rules according to that information.

I agree that transportation may be a way to cut costs for 443. But Wichita schools eliminated busing for the purpose of integration and now they have schools that are completely segregated. Do we need to be concerned about that happening in Dodge City?

[K C Muffin]

Sometimes I feel like the segregation issue has to take a back seat to responsible spending. It's important, God knows. But when economics is forcing us to choose between food for our children and money for our buses, we have to take a second look. Maybe for a year or two, we drop the busing for integration or make it voluntary to attend within another school's boundary. If it's voluntary, bussing doesn't apply, right? I can't believe we can be so concerned about attending the "right" school that we don't consider good sense answers to the problem. Course, when there's only one attendance center for the Sr. High School, it's kind of hard to cut the bussing there, especially since it's so far up north.

[DCFan]

KC, I know what your saying. These are hard choices. But, it seems to me that we have such an ugly history regarding segregation that we ought to make the financial sacrifices. I think that there is a greater good that comes from that. I have a good friend who's daughter went to KU and was shocked over the attitudes of the other students toward "people of color". It made her feel very uncomfortable and was very grateful for her experience in Dodge City. That was not an attitude that she left Dodge City with. It was an eye opening experience. She felt much more prepared for the world experience than her new friends were.

We also have to recognize that we do not have to worry as much about have all white schools as we do of having schools where there are not white students. That has been the experience in Wichita. They now have all black schools.

[K C Muffin]

But at what cost? Would it be so terrible for a year or two till the economy bounces back? It just seems to be a wasteful expense right now.

[DCFan]

I guess that it's a value system and for me it is an expense that I am willing to commit my tax dollars to. I see you are from Overland Park. I have a brother who lives in Lenexa and it is difficult to connect their life experiences to ours. I think that Dodge City is a very unique community. A rural setting with urban issues.

[Bubba]

...Do we need to be concerned about that happening in Dodge City?

No, we have all types of people living in all parts of Dodge City.