school board still having trouble getting kids to school
When I was in high school, my friends and I walked about a mile from my home to the bus stop. That was from 1982 to ‘85. It was dark, and seemed like a long walk to us, but three to five of us walked together, and got used to it. At the end of that twenty minute walk, we were picked up last, and from there it was a 5 minute bus ride to school.
But apparently, some Robinson High School kids on Davis Islands have to walk more than 2 miles, cross busy streets, and the Davis Islands bridge to get to the bus stop at Wilson Middle School. Even googlemaps says “Use caution – This route may be missing sidewalks or pedestrian paths.” From Wilson Middle, the bus ride to Robinson is almost seven miles.
Of course, Plant High (watch volume) is the Davis Islands neighborhood school, but these parents have chosen to send their kids to Robinson High School’s International Baccalaureate program.
I’ve mentioned before that school choice is a great idea, but the board should not be responsible for getting those kids to schools outside their neighborhood.
Alas, the Hillsborough County School Board disagrees, and caters to parents who want it all, and want you to pay for it. So, we have these bus problems. Here is what we’ve noticed thus far:
- August 2005: Transportation for school choice is too generous.
- September 2005: There is a shortage of school bus drivers, because they have to deal with wild children raised by wolves.
- July 2006: There is a severe shortage of school bus drivers, because administrators also treat them like crap.
- January 2007: School bus troubles continue even after hiring a consultant to point out inefficiencies.
- October 2007: Nine months later, they have spent over $340,000 on consultants. And after spending all that money, we still have kids showing up late to school.
- August 2008: School district redesigned all bus routes, and let the parents know at the last possible second, sending the entire school transportation into a spiraling quagmire.
- August 2008: 10 year old killed – bus stop close to busy road.
- August 2008: School Bus admin Jack Davis retires for “health” reasons. Of course, the guy was also the chief information and technology officer, supervising communications, assessment and accountability, information services, staff development, supplier diversity, and customer service and support. Doing all that PLUS transportation would make me sick and tired, too.
- September 2008: Parents are still waiting for return calls and bus stop changes, but the number of callers was down to 600 on Monday, said Deputy Superintendent Ken Otero.
- September 2008: School board contemplates fee-based busing.
For three years (at least), school transportation has been a mess, and your School District of Hillsborough County has not yet solved the problems.
Sure wish there was something we could do about it.
LockBull
1 year ago
I know you posted this weeks ago, but let me share my personal experiences, I believe it poses a counterpoint to your postings on School Choice and transportation.
I was thrilled when my daughter started 6th grade at Davidsen middle school, just a stroll, not even a walk from my house. She could sleep as late as she wanted, take high level classes in a close environment, do things after school and there was no driving involved.
One problem, she HATED it. The teachers spent a disproportionate amount of time with the lower achieving students to get them ready for the FCAT. Although we would have been fine with her staying put (it was easy for us to corner the teachers if needed)after 7th grade she transferred to Williams Middle Pre-IB program(15 miles away).
Transportation to Williams was fine, we had a neighborhood car pool and relied nothing on the School for transportation. She was challenged there, but did little in extra curriculars.
After 8th grade, she was faced with a choice to go to the neighborhood school (Alonso) or to an IB school. We were hoping that IB school would be Hillsborough, which is 10 miles away, but the School Board decided that in order to populate Robinson with enough IB students, that all kids in the Alonso district who wanted to attend IB would do so at Robinson.
Here is where I personally disagree with you on two points: 1) you say that “these parents have chosen to send their kids to Robinson High”. We would be more than OK if she were at Alonso. SHE chose to go to Robinson. Do NOT paint all IB parents with a broad brush by inferring that they are pushing their kids to go IB. That may be true in some cases but definitely not all. We support her as any parent would, but there are limits to that support such as transportation. Speaking of which…
2) Transportation: The Robinson administration had to pull some strings to get the Alonso and Leto district kids to go to their school. They won over the School Board, but parents (such as myself) preferred Hillsborough and even stated that the kids would not attend IB if transportation were not improved to Robinson. The School Board relented and gave an Express bus to Robinson from our neighborhood. That bus is crowded every morning, without it about 30-50% of the kids would not be going to Robinson because of the logistics of getting there. She also does extra-curriculars, but transportation after school is a royal pain although we do car-pool. The pick-up is only made bearable by knowing we don’t have to drive them in the A.M.
No we don’t “want it all”, but we want our kids to be given the best shot if THEY want to succeed.
Anonymous
1 year ago
I think that the bus-to-hub, transfer, bus-to-school works fine, my middle schooler uses that system.
The thing that bothered me more about the IB boundaries was that we lived about ONE mile from HHS but for my oldest to go to IB she would have had to walk to HHS, get on a bus, and ride that bus to King. Your tax dollars at work! She ended up at a private school. Who knows what will happen now that they have added another…
extethync
1 year ago
Nothing seems to be easier than seeing someone whom you can help but not helping.
I suggest we start giving it a try. Give love to the ones that need it.
God will appreciate it.