Kaylise Trahan
August 26, 2008

Bus Altercations

Lafayette Parish School Board is trying to save money by making changes in school transportation. The School Board has limited the amount of transportation for private and public school students. As a result of these limitations, many problems have occurred throughout the parish of Lafayette. Limiting the number of school buses leaves many bus drivers unemployed. After talking to a local bus driver regarding the changes, he exclaimed that in cutting approximately fifty school buses, many buses are exceeding capacity with more students on their routes. This makes it difficult to get to each route in a timely manner. Another problem from this change is that in most schools, duty teachers are needed to make sure students get on the bus and leave school safely. Some duty teachers have to stay late without extra pay because the buses are late arriving to pick up the students.

Elementary, middle, and high school students are also being affected from the reduction of buses. Buses have a safety capacity on the number of students they can have on a bus. Currently on the news, it was stated that some buses have close to eighty students when the capacity is sixty-five. Some students have to catch the bus extremely early for school. My little cousins catch the bus at six twenty-five for school. The elementary school they attend starts at seven fifty-five and is only four miles away from their house. This means they are on the bus for over an hour before arriving at school.

After speaking with several bus drivers, people in the community, reading the newspaper, and watching the local news, the only logical reason the school board cut buses appears to be to save money. Is it justice for bus drivers to be unemployed when they are actually really needed? Is it fair for students to have to catch the bus over an hour in advance to go to school located minutes away? Is it justice to put students’ overall safety in jeopardy? No, it is unjust and one-sided of the school board to cause predicaments in Lafayette Parish just to save money. Is saving money worth the life of a child?