Groveport Madison school bus issues need addressed
I am responding to the bus issue in the Groveport Madison School District.
I hope that the 2008-09 school year busing is better than it was last year. The bus driver, the time of arrival, the bus number and the direction the bus came, changed four times in that school year and only one notice was sent out to parents. It left the parents and kids confused. As a parent it made me wonder why all of this was changing so frequently. I understand that we live in a world that changes all the time, but I believe that if the bus company would have communicated with the parents more, it would have sent a better message to the community.
I have also heard this upcoming year, the kids who are going to go to the charter school in Groveport will have to ride two buses. First they will be picked up at the bus stop, then taken to their home school, get on a second bus in order to be taken to the charter school. My question: Is this true and is this what is called new and improved?
How long will these children have to be on the bus? And who is going to make sure that the kids get on the right bus in order to get to the charter school?
I would like to ask an honest question, I am not trying to be nasty in any way, but as a parent, is the bus company really thinking about the kids and their families? Would you want to ride four buses a day? How is this promoting safety?
I can understand older kids at the high school level taking two buses, but not at the elementary level.
In conclusion, I hope that the bus company is not going to start this new system for the elementary kids.
Nykol King
Reynoldsburg
Give CW schools a break
As a Canal Winchester resident, I want to respond to the letter printed in the Aug. 4 edition of the Southeast Messenger.
While I am sometimes frustrated by what feels like constant levies on the ballot, I also understand that it is based upon the needs of the district. This Canal Winchester school district is growing rapidly which creates a burden upon the schools. While we may pay "some of the highest taxes in the state," we are also growing faster than most other districts.
Yes, gas prices are up. Yes, every family is feeling the pain of that. But the school district is not immune from those increased costs as well. Perhaps a family in the district looking to trim their budget could get rid of a couple of those gas guzzling SUVs. That would be a much better cut to make, with both financial and environmental benefits, than voting against the levy would be.
What will that $200,000 home be worth if the school district continues to deteriorate to the point no one wants to live here?
You don’t want the school to eliminate busing, yet you don’t want to vote for the levy. The gas prices are putting the same strain on the district that you use to validate your decision to vote against the levy.
To say that the teachers at Canal Winchester are overpaid is one of the most insulting excuses I have ever heard used to justify a vote against the levy. Perhaps you should compare the salaries of teachers at Canal Winchester to other schools in the state and educate yourself on how underpaid our teachers really are.
You want the $200,000 house and the two SUVs in the driveway, all the while complaining about having to pay more taxes. You want to complain about how the school mismanages money and what cuts they could make. What cuts could you make that do not ride on the backs of the children who attend these schools?
Tara Crawford
Canal Winchester
Defending CW schools
In his letter in the Aug. 4 Southeast Messenger, Wendell Collier is certainly getting an early start on voting against the Canal Winchester school levy! He is just as certainly misinformed about some things.
First, the school budget is a public document. To get a copy, just go to the school board offices and ask for one. After paying a reasonable copying fee, you will be welcome to take it home and go over it line by line. I am sure that the board, at its scheduled meetings, would happily listen to comments and suggestions as to the "foolishness" he finds in the budget.
Second, in requiring high school students to walk or provide their own transportation, the board is following the laws concerning busing. Simply put, transportation is required only for students in grades K-8 living over two miles from the school. Doing that is not a "pressure tactic."
I have a solution to offer, Mr. Collier, that avoids the need to vote for school issues "every election."
Call, write, e-mail every state legislator out there until they follow the DeRolph decisions and fix the school funding problems.
David L. Dietz
Lithopolis
