School buses shouldn’t be used as a taxi service
To the editor:
I am writing in response to the “Angels on their shoulders” letter last week. I am not trying to dismiss or diminish their concern and love for their grandchildren. I know what it is like to lose a child. After reading their comments last week about two children being let off a school bus at the wrong location, my first thought was “Why is a school bus delivering kids to the Rec. Center or Wintergreen Arts Center? Where are the parents?”
A quick investigation revealed that this is a common occurrence. Students are routinely dropped off at many locations not at all relevant to school. They are driven to Boy/Girl Scouts, work, art lessons, doctor’s and dentist’s appointments, hair appointments, grandma’s house, auntie’s house, friend’s houses, the list goes on! Parents have even called to ask that their child be kept on the bus until last because the parent was shopping and would be late getting home!
On a normal day, these bus drivers safely make more than 2,000, yes, two thousand stops, picking up and delivering kids to and from school. The regular drivers are familiar with their charges and generally know each one’s name and address, but when a substitute driver covers a route, he or she may not have all of that institutional knowledge. He/she will have a list of students and addresses, which would be fine except that on any given day, there are 40 or more changes to the normal lists of stops. Keeping this organized is a monumental task that requires a lot of teamwork. It is a testament to the dedicated employees of SAD 1 — teachers, drivers and administration — that this sort of thing hasn’t happened before. It will inevitably happen again if the buses continue to be used as a taxi service.
The school district is only responsible for getting all students safely from home to school and then back home or to a daycare center. It is, and should always be, the parent’s responsibility to get their child to and from any activity not directly organized and/or supervised by SAD 1 staff!
Maybe the district could even save some money on diesel fuel with less stops and starts, less miles driven, less wages and less wear and tear on the buses!
Gerry M. James
Presque Isle
