School Bus Service to be Reinstated

The Californian reports that the Menifee Union School Board will be reinstating school bus service to some students, but not all.

Basically, the district will reinstate bus service, but will likely make it harder for students to qualify, increasing the walking distance from 1.25 miles to 2.0 miles...

Still, it's probable that less elementary school students will qualify for the bus service compared to what has been offered through this year, as the district's staff has proposed increasing the so-called "walking distance" for some students to 2 miles from 1.25 miles, among other revisions. Those suggested modifications are meant to avoid cuts to other services, Wood said.

Since two new elementary schools are opening, Southshore Elementary and Quail Valley Elementary, technically fewer students would require busing anyways. In fact, that was partly the reason why busing became expendable in the first place.

All this came about after Governor Schwarzenegger said that cuts in state spending won't be nearly as bad as he originally stated. However, assistant superintendent Dan Wood warned earlier that the $2 million grant for maintaining a year-round schedule may not happen, so all this may be for naught.