Wednesday, April 23, 2008

MPS Busing cuts

Busing for MPS students will be cut by more than two thirds for the '09 - '10 school year for a savings of about 20 million dollars. The article is here.

It's easy to have an immediate reaction to this. For many parents, how they get their children to the school they want them to attend is going to be more difficult.

But, there are several other issues with regard to this that make this a good thing. First, there are a few instances where a bus travels over 20 miles with 2 kids aboard. That's ridiculous. A huge waste of money.

Second, Andrekopoulos has been pushing for a return to neighborhood schools. This would help that cause. Granted, it forces the issue, but part of that issue was money savings.

Third, it frees up the money for other things. As I've posted before, MGIS is losing their PhyEd and Music teachers. They've already lost their Art teacher. Granted, part of the problem is money allocation, and not simply amount of money. But saving on busing cost is one way to handle the over all budget problem.

I could mention that this is a "green" initiative. Buses not only pour a lot of emission in to the air, but they do it for greater distances and for longer periods of time. Returning to neighborhood schools would mean less emissions. Add to that the price of gas . . .

But I doubt anyone will bring that up in the discussion.

The other good thing that may come from this . . . local schools will improve. With no choice but to send a child to a nearby school parents will demand that schools improve. Which they should. While I support this measure, I'd hate to see students and their parents feel as though they're losing out because they have to go to a school that they feel isn't as good as where they've been going.

Lastly, MPS needs to make improvements across the board so that all schools are good. Not just a few. Further, while there may still be those parents who want to send their children to a certain school, I don't think it's the responsibility of MPS to act as a charter service for every desire. Understandably, this is a give and take situation.

It's a small start, but it's a start.

2 comments:

Mute Dog said...

I absolutely agree, the fact that you have a choice of which MPS school your kid attends (without moving where you live) is a pretty nice feature. If you were to send your kid to private school you'd be unlikely to even get bus service even if it was close to your home.

Jimi5150 said...

Exactly. Just when did schools become a daycare?