Without district endorsement, group creates survey on busing

The Menifee Union School District won't post it, so a parent is posting an online busing survey on his own. File photo

Editor's note: The Menifee Union School District is not affiliated with the survey mentioned in the article. The survey, created by resident Greg Shaw on behalf of a group of concerned parents, is available to be completed at the end of this article.

A group of residents is conducting an online survey regarding a proposed payment plan for student busing, even though the Menifee Union School District will not allow the survey to be posted on its website.

Greg Shaw, who created the survey, said it is designed to seek input from residents whose children in MUSD live outside the district-established distance of 2.5 miles (3 miles for middle school students) from their school. The survey asks whether those parents would agree to pay up to $600 per year per student for busing service.

Shaw, who addressed the MUSD governing board July 25, is one of several parents who have said they would pay such a fee. Their proposal is in response to the district's July 12 announcement that it has eliminated busing for all but special education students, saving an estimated $700,000.

As recently as two years ago, MUSD provided busing service for an annual fee. Shaw said that in a meeting last Friday with superintendent Dr. Steve Kennedy and Ambur Borth, assistant superintendent for business services, they indicated a willingness to work with the group in exploring such a fee-based system to restore some of the bus services.

However, Shaw (right) received an email from Borth on Tuesday saying MUSD cannot be affiliated with the survey, citing privacy concerns related to those who would complete it. Shaw, who said he is the only one who will have access to the results, said he is asking only for each family's last name and street so they can be matched against school records to ensure the family is eligible.

"It seems that every time I lay my points out there, they say they don't see why it would be a problem," Shaw said about his communications with Kennedy and Borth. "Then a couple hours later, I get an email saying they can't consider it. That leads me to believe something else is going on. Was this decision made a long time ago and they just aren't going to consider any options?

"If the goal is to save money, and if they can still save that money and restore busing at zero added cost to them, why wouldn't they want to do so? "

In an email to Menifee 24/7 on Wednesday, Borth wrote, "We are always open to creative solutions to problems, however, at this time it does not seem likely that the $700,000 necessary to reinstate the routes will be identified and secured in the near future."

Borth did not answer a question of whether MUSD would consider the group's plan if survey response showed enough parents were willing to pay for busing at no extra cost to the district.

"Any persons or group can conduct a community survey or gather information on any topic," Borth wrote. "We certainly appreciate the efforts of the community member to conduct a survey on this issue; however, we note that for a host of reasons, including privacy considerations, school districts do not typically allow third parties to conduct surveys via district communication tools, such as a district website or auto-dial system.

"At this time, the district does not intend to conduct a survey."

MUSD has a contract with the Hemet Unified School District to provide buses for Menifee. According to Alex Sponheim, public information officer for that district, MUSD requested 11 fewer buses for this school year than last. She said MUSD will continue to pay for 14 buses that transport special education students and homeless students, which is required by law.

Sponheim said the state Education Code does not allow Hemet USD to make any agreement with an individual or non-profit organization for busing. Any additional buses would have to be requested by MUSD as an adjustment to its latest contract, she said.

Shaw told Menifee 24/7 that Kennedy said in the Friday meeting he would discuss further options with Hemet USD. Sponheim said on Wednesday that she is unaware of any correspondence the district has received from MUSD recently.

Menifee 24/7 also attempted to reach MUSD school board president Bob O'Donnell for comment but did not receive a response.

Whether MUSD officials would consider overwhelming feedback from parents on his survey or not, Shaw said he is continuing to solicit input from parents and will make the information available to MUSD. According to the district, the reduction in busing will affect about 1,300 students. School begins Aug. 14.

Borth said the cost of each additional bus averages about $62,000 per year but could run as high as $90,000. Shaw maintains that if district officials would simply look at the results of his survey, they might find that not a single extra bus is needed.

"You take the names of those who are willing to pay and lay their addresses over the map of the special ed routes," he said. "If the existing routes already cover the routes they use, those students could ride those buses. There would be no additional cost to the district and the money parents pay could be used for something else in the district."

Shaw said as of Wednesday afternoon, he estimated about 35 families had responded to the survey. Each one had multiple students in the district and all said they would be willing to pay, he said.

Why would parents be willing to pay $600 for busing? Shaw used his own situation as an example.

"Before, when I had both boys at Oak Meadows, I paid to have before- and after-school care at the school," said Shaw, a single parent. "That cost $975 a month. Would I rather pay that amount or $600 for the year, which works out to about $100 a month? And then my boys get to take the bus home and be at home.

"My boys would only be home about an hour alone at home. And if I have to drive them to school in the morning, Oak Meadows starts at 7:40 and Bell Mountain starts at 8:45. I wouldn't be able to get to work until 9:30. Then I'm turning around at 2:04 to start picking them up."

Shaw said he plans to speak again at the next MUSD board meeting on Aug. 8.

"I think we've presented a fair and logical plan," Shaw said about his group, which has gathered more than 1,300 signatures protesting the busing cuts. "It's disheartening to me that they won't consider this. Something is going on to make them not want to make a decision that's beneficial to everyone."

Parents with children who live far enough from their school to qualify for busing may take Shaw's survey at the link below:

MUSD Paid Transportation Survey