Posted by Hal Bailey, a member of the Rancho Romero Elementary School community, on Jul 6, 2007 at 9:38 am

Dolores,

I plan to ask Joan Buchanan to explain this decision based on the reality that Education is a COST and not a profitable business. All school activities operate at a loss, as expense, against a budgeted sources and uses of funds.

First, the student needs to get to and from school before any educational program can be effective. Thus, transportation is a critical component of education and needs to be a priority.

Second, SRVUSD should not be building parking lots as a transportation solution. The Trustees need to focus on well-planned transportation for students that does not clog our streets and pollute our hieghborhoods.

Lastly, it is obvious that SRVUSD has little expertise in transportation, little concern for Alamo neighborhoods, and our community of neighborhoods must create plans that eliminate the volume of cars used to transport students to and from school.

It is time to TELL the SRVUSD Trustees what transportation will be required and not to ASK for their consideration.

Hal

Posted by Kathy Hepner, a resident of the Danville neighborhood, on Jul 11, 2007 at 11:22 am

My family and I moved here from the East Coast five months ago and I was surprised I needed to buy a school bus pass for my oldest son who attends Monte Vista High. In Maine, the bus was provided by the school district but I understand California has some school funding issues and the population is much larger, so I said "OK." Now, it is to be taken away completely. That I do not understand.

You mentioned that many students did not take advantage of the bus service, but you neglected to mention that quite often there was no room on the bus. This happened mostly on the return trip so I began to pick up my son, which was a whole new experience in traffic control or lack of it. The parking lot had a lot of teens anxious to leave and a lot of anxious parents sitting in a backed up parking lot. I was yelled at by a parent and a student at the same time both telling me to move my car in different directions. The student told me to move my car or he would just hit me. Not a pleasant experience.

Also, traffic trying to leave the schools creates a moving parking lot along Green Valley road. By ending school busing, the district is creating more traffic issues, parking problems as more students drive themselves to school, safety issues particularly with the younger kids and a bigger pollution problem with the added cars on the road.

I do not claim to have an answer to this, but maybe there is funding somewhere to keep school busing alive in the district. I do believe it should be viewed as an essential part of the school district's budget.