The wheels on the bus...

UPDATE: FRIDAY 1/30/09

Alison,
Yes, the bus does take an Amherst child to the Pelham school and we appreciate your stated desire to not infringe on this child's privacy. Having him ride a regular bus is a cost-saving measure; van runs for individual students are far more costly than adding a short distance to a bus route. Bus routes do occasionally change during the course of a year to adjust to changing needs. We will look into updating the description of the routes on the website.

Our bus insurance covers our buses whether they are in Amherst or Pelham. All of our drivers carry walkie-talkies and can be reached in case of an emergency.

Helen
Dr. Helen Vivian
Interim Co-Superintendent of Schools
Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools
170 Chestnut Street
Amherst, MA 01002
413-362-1823

From: Alison Donta

To: Helen Vivian ; Kathleen Anderson ; Elaine Brighty ; Andy Churchill ; Sonia Correa Pope ; Catherine Sanderson

Cc: Peter Crouse ; Tracy Farnham ; Michael Hussin ; Marianne Jorgensen ; Michael Katz ; Debbie Westmoreland ; sharickr@ARPS.ORG ; suarez-wl@ARPS.ORG

Sent: Friday, January 30, 2009 9:28 AM

Subject: Re: problem with bus

Helen...

I appreciate your reply. I would like to request a copy of the current bus route for Bus #8, as I would like to know where my own child is on his way to and from school. I am also requesting that you send a copy of the updated bus route to Ray Sharick and to Lianne Suarez-Werlein at Fort River (whom I have cc'd here so they will know to be on the lookout for the updated schedule) since they are in charge of the children on Bus #8. I am hoping that either they or, more appropriately, you inform ALL the parents whose children ride Bus #8 of the change in route.

I also cannot imagine why the updated bus route cannot also be posted immediately on the ARPS web site. In fact, none of the Fort River bus routes are currently posted on the ARPS transportation web site http://www.arps.org/node/79 which I find unusual and potentially distressing to any parent who might want to look up their child's bus route.

Additionally, I look forward to the answers to the other questions in my original email:

--Are there more children who are not attending school in our district that we are busing elsewhere?
--How many kids (not counting the ELL kids) do we bus to schools that are not their district-assigned schools?
--How much time does it add to the time of bus route 8 to make a detour to the Pelham School? (You have now told me that it is a cost-saving measure to drive one child to Pelham, but what does it add to the time the other kids spend in the bus?)
--Why isn't this route to Pelham School published?

My final question is: "since my neighborhood bus already goes to Pelham for one child, would the rest of us on the bus route now have the option of choicing into Pelham and having our children bused to and from school daily as well?" I realize that this is not likely to occur this school year but next year, would that be an option for any of us on Bus #8? Given space availability in Pelham School, of course.

Looking forward to learning more.

...Alison
###############################################################

Original Post (Wednesday)

This morning my son, a sixth grader at Fort River, complained to me that
his bus was now "always late" since they "changed routes." When
questioned, he said, "yeah, now that we have to drop that kid off atPelham
School, we are late."

Since Pelham School is NOT in our elementary
district and according to the published bus routes, his bus does NOT go to
Pelham School, I did some investigating. First of all, I double-checked
his bus route which can be found at: http://www.arps.org/Busroute/FR4.htm (route
also copied below in case the link mysteriously disappears). This was the
bus route I am familiar with. It does not list a stop at Pelham
Road.

Next, I spoke with our vice-principal who was very helpful and assured me
that the kids were not late but didn't seem to know whether or not they went to
Pelham School. She directed me to the ARPS transportation office.

I called and spoke with Peter Crouse who confirmed that this bus was not
late but did tell me that the bus did go to Pelham School. I wanted to
know why. His answer was "to drop off a child who goes there." He
further explained that the bus "had to turn around near Pelham School anyway, on
Amherst Road." According the map I consulted, the published bus route does
not actually take the bus onto Amherst Road since it leaves Harkness Road at
Stony Hill. I then asked if this child was an Amherst child or a Pelham
child. He told me it was an Amherst child. So my question to him
was, "so we are paying to bus a child who is choicing out of our
district?" He replied that "it wasn't really a choice child...more like
open enrollment...kind of special needs." He said it was "a long
story," and not wanting to infringe upon this particular child's privacy, I
didn't push the issue. (Let me be clear, my issue is NOT with this child
or what is best for that child but instead what is best for our
financially-strapped school district.)

So, my questions for you, as my elected officials are:


--Why are we busing an Amhest child to Pelham?


--Are there more children who are not attending school in our district that
we are busing elsewhere?


--How many kids (not counting the ELL kids) do we bus to schools that are
not their district-assigned schools?


--How much time does it add to the time of bus route 8 to make a detour to
the Pelham School?


--Why isn't this route to Pelham School published? Don't I, as a
parent, have the right to know the route my child is taking to get to
school? What if there were an emergency in our family and I had to track
down my son and tried to catch up with the bus on its route? I understand
that temporary detours might be required due to weather, road closings,
etc. But to permanently change the route (Peter Crouse told me that this
child had been doing this all year) and not publish it doesn't seem right.

What are the liability issues for our town? We must carry insurance
on those buses and be required to file routes. What would happen if Bus #8
got into an accident in Pelham? Would our insurance cover that since the
bus wasn't in town as it was supposed to be?

This seems to me to be another sign of lack of fiscal responsibility,
accountability, communication, and leadership on the part of our school
administration. I elected you to represent me and to make the best
decisions possible not only for my children but all children in town. As
such, I would not only like some answers but also see some action taken on this
matter.

I have cc'd the Regional School Committee members on this because I realize
that transportation is coordinated regionally and also because the same interim
superintendents are in charge of both districts. If this problem exists
for one bus, it is highly likely that similar problems exist for other bus
routes. Given the tragic accident earlier this year involving an ARPS bus,
I think a thorough investigation into this department is called for. If
nothing else, I would like the EXACT bus routes for ALL buses updated (and
published) to reflect the true routes that the buses take when transporting our
most precious cargo every day.

Alison Donta-Venman, 1 Dwight Circle

From: Alison Donta
To: andersonk@arps.org; brightye@arps.org; churchilla@arps.org; popes@arps.org; sandersonc@arps.org
Cc: farnhamt@arps.org; hussinm@arps.org; jorgensenm@arps.org; katzm@arps.org
Sent: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 3:42 pm
Subject: problem with bus