Menifee's School Bus Debate
On Tuesday, April 24, 2012 the Menifee Unified School District held a controversial board meeting at Freedom Crest Elementary to discuss pot...
http://www.menifee247.com/2012/04/menifees-school-bus-debate.html
On Tuesday, April 24, 2012 the Menifee Unified School District held a controversial board meeting at Freedom Crest Elementary to discuss potential budget and program cuts. Concerned parents packed into the elementary school multi purpose room to voice their grievances and hopefully leave with answers.
The main issue at hand was how budget cuts were going to possibly minimize, or even do away with, the school bus transportation in the Menifee School District.
Several months earlier the Lake Elsinore School district decided to completely cut their bus system, leaving Menifee feeling frightful that the same thing might befall their district.
One angry parent, up in arms, approached the podium and began to tell her tale of single parenting and the inability to get her children to school without a bus service. She went on to explain that without a bus, her child would have to walk 6 miles to school which would take him hours.
Parents argued that while the board is scrambling to balance the budget and make numbers meet, without attendance the schools would lose vital funding. And without buses, the children cannot make it to school.
One parent went as far as to say she currently pays for her children to ride the bus and would gladly pay more for the service to continue.
Denise Bassett, a current teacher at Ridgemoor Elementary, recounted her days as a busy parent of multiple children at different schools saying, “Buses made life less stressful. There was no physical way I could get my kids to school.”
While her children were taking the bus, she knew they were getting to school and that they were getting there safely.
After initially voting unanimously to adopt the Transportation Plan 2A, the governing school board decided to tentatively approve Plan 2a with a graduated fee structure over a three year period.
Plan 2a sought to minimize the number of bus stops with the intention to centralize pick up locations while efficiently servicing the highest ride areas.
The approved plan 2a with graduated fee structure proposes to increase the fee parents pay so their child(ren) may ride the bus. As it stands, Menifee district students pay the lowest annual fee of $220, out of all the surrounding districts.
The graduated fee increase would slowly raise the cost to ride the bus from $220 to $350 next school year 2012/2013, up to $450 in 2013/2014, and finally to $550 in 2014/2015. The plan would also require that students currently receiving free or reduced price lunches would need to pay a minimal bus fee as well.
To date, five bus drivers have received pink slips in compliance with the required 45-day notice.
It is required by the state that the governing board turn in a budget plan in the coming month. For this reason, this decisions concerning cuts have tentatively been made but will be revisited once the district receives actual numbers concerning funding after the November ballot.
Board member, Scott Mann, said, “These decisions aren’t easy to make. I’ve been there and I empathize with you.”
While this solution seeks to serve parents and students as best as possible, the Board still needs to verify that this decision is in compliance with the education code.
After the final decision is made, actual pick-up points will be determined based on highest ridership and the worst safety concerns. In addition the transportation department will draft a visual map of the bus routes.
Parents pointed blame at decision-making board members, it still seems that the Menifee Unified School District is working there hardest to save the bus system.
After stating her own opinion the head of the teacher’s union, Jody Sanchez, offered up a positive take on the dismal situation saying, “We are all going through this and we need to be in it together.”
The next regular meeting of the Governing Board will be held at the district office on Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 4:30 PM.
The main issue at hand was how budget cuts were going to possibly minimize, or even do away with, the school bus transportation in the Menifee School District.
One angry parent, up in arms, approached the podium and began to tell her tale of single parenting and the inability to get her children to school without a bus service. She went on to explain that without a bus, her child would have to walk 6 miles to school which would take him hours.
Parents argued that while the board is scrambling to balance the budget and make numbers meet, without attendance the schools would lose vital funding. And without buses, the children cannot make it to school.
One parent went as far as to say she currently pays for her children to ride the bus and would gladly pay more for the service to continue.
Denise Bassett, a current teacher at Ridgemoor Elementary, recounted her days as a busy parent of multiple children at different schools saying, “Buses made life less stressful. There was no physical way I could get my kids to school.”
While her children were taking the bus, she knew they were getting to school and that they were getting there safely.
After initially voting unanimously to adopt the Transportation Plan 2A, the governing school board decided to tentatively approve Plan 2a with a graduated fee structure over a three year period.
Plan 2a sought to minimize the number of bus stops with the intention to centralize pick up locations while efficiently servicing the highest ride areas.
The approved plan 2a with graduated fee structure proposes to increase the fee parents pay so their child(ren) may ride the bus. As it stands, Menifee district students pay the lowest annual fee of $220, out of all the surrounding districts.
The graduated fee increase would slowly raise the cost to ride the bus from $220 to $350 next school year 2012/2013, up to $450 in 2013/2014, and finally to $550 in 2014/2015. The plan would also require that students currently receiving free or reduced price lunches would need to pay a minimal bus fee as well.
To date, five bus drivers have received pink slips in compliance with the required 45-day notice.
It is required by the state that the governing board turn in a budget plan in the coming month. For this reason, this decisions concerning cuts have tentatively been made but will be revisited once the district receives actual numbers concerning funding after the November ballot.
Board member, Scott Mann, said, “These decisions aren’t easy to make. I’ve been there and I empathize with you.”
While this solution seeks to serve parents and students as best as possible, the Board still needs to verify that this decision is in compliance with the education code.
After the final decision is made, actual pick-up points will be determined based on highest ridership and the worst safety concerns. In addition the transportation department will draft a visual map of the bus routes.
Parents pointed blame at decision-making board members, it still seems that the Menifee Unified School District is working there hardest to save the bus system.
After stating her own opinion the head of the teacher’s union, Jody Sanchez, offered up a positive take on the dismal situation saying, “We are all going through this and we need to be in it together.”
The next regular meeting of the Governing Board will be held at the district office on Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 4:30 PM.
This goes through and I'll be looking into that online school. The charges are getting out of hand... remember when us parents rode the bus for free???
ReplyDeleteSchools should be in the business of education and not transportation. If the busses stop, parents will still find a way to get their kids to school. In an ideal world, the schools can do everything for everybody, but that isn't where the economy is right now.
ReplyDeleteLet’s cut the pensions, pay just a little more for medical benefits, and do away with tenure. 55% of all money in the state government goes toward education. A large part of it is the above mentioned areas. Instead of beating our board members over the head, call your state representative and tell them your concerns. Also ask why out of state and illegal aliens students get extra tuition assistance. Far above what a legal California resident can get.
ReplyDelete"Parents will still find a way to get their kids to school." I don't think this is true. Some of the schools are just too far away. I already think it is a joke that there are very few before and after programs. I know alot of kids that will be missing alot of days..guess Menifee schools will just have to be out more money when this happens.
ReplyDeleteCut pensions? Pay more for benefits? Do away with tenure? Must be a crazy person talking. The schools system is already facing severe cuts and doing away with these things will mean no quality teachers! Who will go into this field if there were no pensions! I agree about the illegal aliens should get no assistance, but not the other areas. Busing is not as important as keeping quality teachers.
ReplyDelete20 years ago we had more quality teachers than we ever will today. That's because they did it for the kids not a paycheck and pension.
ReplyDeleteYou can't live on no money and no future. What are you talking about. I know two very quality teachers that are being harassed and encouraged to lie and cheat for the students rather than to teach and therefore they are being encouraged to quit. You people who do not teach do not know what is going on. Wake up!! Money helps people stay off of welfare. 20 years ago they still had a paycheck and needed a pension. What do you do? How do you survive?
ReplyDelete$70,000/year should keep a teacher off welfare. That's the average salary for a teacher in MUSD.
ReplyDeleteMost people in the private sector contribute to their own retirement and not a guaranteed pension. In addition, they pay for their families health benefits, if they have them at all.
No one said do away with pension put a teacher can retire a lot younger the people in the private sector with more money. All anyone is saying is let’s make it even across the board. Also let’s do away with tenure; in my opinion tenure is the new four letter word. As soon as a teacher is tenured they have the ability to become a horrible teacher and there aren’t any consequences. Here’s and idea turn the pension over to the unions let them pay for it and find out how much it gets cut.
ReplyDeleteI guess we parents need to form our own car pooling, I think it could be done. We can't rely on Cali for anything. Next thing we know, we will be charged for toilet paper per student yearly.
ReplyDelete