Wednesday, September 3, 2003
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Wednesday, September 3, 2003 |
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Top task: Fix bus routes By J. FRANK LYNCH
It didn't take long for volunteer members of the school district's Transportation Task Force to realize the daunting task ahead of them when they gathered for their first meeting last week, but that didn't stop them from making some progress, committee members say. The 11 citizen members of the freshly named committee, handpicked after meeting an Aug. 25 application deadline, heard for more than an hour Thursday night from a state education official before turning attention to the manila folders stacked before them, overstuffed with pages of documents, logs of parent complaints via e-mail and phone calls, copies of system and state policies and procedures and more. Scanning the two-page agenda 90 minutes into the meeting, a hesitant parent raised her hand and asked chairman Fred Phillips, head of purchasing for the school system, just how long it would last. "This is a long agenda," she observed, glancing about at the other committee members squeezed into a stuffy, hot conference room at BOE headquarters. "Well, that's entirely up to the committee," declared Phillips cheerfully. "I was thinking 10, maybe 10:30?" Realizing the task before them, they got down to business. Last night after press time, the Transportation Task Force was scheduled to present its first recommendation at a special called meeting of the school board. Pending the board's approval, corrective action the panel recommends could be in place by the end of the week to appease scores of parents angry at cuts to bus routes. The top concern was the relocation of multiple bus stops from inside neighborhoods to a single stop at the main entrances to subdivisions, where busy streets and four-lane highways threaten student safety, school officials say. On that issue, the committee may have found a compromise. It will meet again next week to tackle agenda items number 7 and 8: Elementary children being asked to walk too far from home to bus stop or school, and the situation within "walk zones" where children must walk more than a half-mile to get to school. Girding them for the challenge that lay ahead, State Department of Transportation Director Bill Bonnett addressed the committee first, assuring them that what Fayette County was experiencing was not unique or new. "In every community that has lots of growth, we've seen this change take place and it always flies up in the district's face," he said. "As you build more schools closer to more houses, it's not going to make sense financially to bus children such short distances." As the onetime head of school bus service in Gwinnett County, Bonnett said the state's largest district had 45,000 students when he left and 125,000 today, but the number of school buses on Gwinnett's roads hasn't grown proportionately. That's because Gwinnett employs a number of techniques, including staggered start times, to get maximum use out of its buses. Federal and state law mandates that "county" school systems provide transportation to anyone living 1.5 miles or more from a school, Bonnett confirmed. City school districts, however, are exempt. Still, only a handful, like Trion or Chickamauga, in North Georgia, have no transportation. Carrollton City Schools launched bus service to its students in 1995. The city of Atlanta was forced by court order to provide buses in the late 1980s, Bonnett said. Task force members were appalled that state law allows districts to cram buses 20 percent above manufacturer's recommended capacity, figured as three-to-a-seat. "That was designed to allow some flexibility for those times when you have more passengers than anticipated, like at the start of the school year," Bonnett explained, agreeing that some school districts might take advantage of the law by forcing more kids to ride than there are seats on the bus. "Believe me, you are in very good shape in Fayette County," he said, telling the task force that the average age of a school bus in Georgia is above 10 years, while Fayette's fleet of 181 buses averaged just slightly over 5 years old. Bringing the point closer to the issues at hand, he illustrated for the panel why transportation funding is so crucial: Of the 181 buses Fayette owns, the state pays to operate barely half of them. County taxpayers make up the rest. Task Force member Clarence Leathers wanted to know if additional funding sources, such as a local option sales tax on schools, could be used to finance the luxury bus service. School system finance director James Stephens said it could, as long as the issue was spelled out clearly on the ballot when voters went to the polls. But he dismissed suggestions that those who want bus stops closer to home pay a user fee, while others may choose to go without. "We are charged by law of the state of Georgia to provide a free education to every child who wants it, and that includes bus service," he said. Who's on the Task Force?
The Fayette County School System's Transportation Task Force was named from applicants who expressed interest in serving and formally applied. The "citizen" members were chosen by a team led by Fred Oliver, deputy superintendent. They represent a cross-section of the county, school board officials say. Six school district employees round out the committee.
CITIZEN MEMBERS
Michael Dean, Peachtree City Kristin Ernst, Peachtree City Chip Gjertsen, Peachtree City Tedd Kemberling, Fayetteville Clarence Leathers, Fayetteville Connie Leary, Peachtree City Sheryl Lee, mayor of Tyrone Shena Manning, Fayetteville Dawn Oparah, Fayetteville Thomas Stephens, Fayetteville
CITIZEN EX-OFFICIO MEMBER Delvonnie M. Burgess, chair of the NAACP Fayette Branch Education Committee, Fayetteville
SCHOOL STAFF Fred Oliver, deputy superintendent Pam Holt, director of transportation Karen Bullock, principal, Kedron Elementary Vicke Clute, transportation staff Roxane Blessitt, transportation assistant Fred Philips, head of purchasing, chairman
SCHOOL EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS Jim Stephens, comptroller Melinda Berry-Dreisbach, public information specialist
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