Wednesday,September 10, 2003

Parents, take responsibility for your children's safety

I have been an employee of the Fayette County Board of Education since 1990, most recently, as a bus driver. I resigned my position before the start of school this year for many reasons.

I am also a parent with two children, one in elementary school, one in middle school. I am concerned about their safety. I was a single mom for seven years and had to balance it all myself, meaning that I was responsible for my children, no one else( I recently remarried). I left the BOE to take care of my children as infants, and upon divorcing, returned to make some money. Was it a perfect job? No. Was it a thankless job? Yes. Was it my dream to be a paraprofessional or a bus driver? No. Was it best for my children? Yes.

I am tired of hearing how the people who work off Ga. Highway 400 have to be late to work now because they have to sit at the bus stop with their kids. They should have been there all along. What's more important, your job or your child?

We have to make sacrifices in order to provide what's best for our children. Your time and responsibility as a parent is best for them. Not leaving before they go to school and coming home long after they do. How do you know if they went to school at all? How do you know some crazed lunatic didn't abduct them from your home before the bus pulled up (directly in front of your home, apparently).

I cannot fathom leaving my child alone to go to school. I want to see my child step on the bus or into the school. I brought them in to the world, not the BOE. I know what is going on at my child's school. I make it a point to find out.

We are teaching our children a lesson in all of this: Stomp your feet and throw a fit, yell a little and you'll get your way. Everyone needs to stop and take a look at themselves and their lives. Perhaps your lives should be adjusted, not your bus route.

Unsafe bus stops should be changed. I do not argue with that and as a bus driver, I would have refused to pick up a child at a location I felt was unsafe. I've done it before. When safety is truly at stake, the Transportation Department will help you; they've never let me down where safety is concerned. But don't confuse safety with convenience.

The routes are now done by computer. I think it is evident that some stops were not looked at by thinking humans. [BOE employees] Pam Holt, Roxanne Blissett and Becky Wilson are all very caring, intelligent people. I am proud to say that I was a part of their team. They know this county like the back of their hand. If your stop is truly unsafe, it will be changed.

But, until then, use some common sense and take your child to the bus stop. Make arrangements with your neighbor to walk your child to or from the bus stop if it is too hard for you to wake your sleeping infant. It's your child, your responsibility. Take responsibility or call a taxi. How safe would you feel putting your child alone in the car with a taxi driver you don't know?

Every single person in the transportation department loves children. Trust me, they don't do it for the money. They transport your child 180 days a year, twice a day. They know all about you and your family, where you went on vacation, and what you had for dinner last night. They talk to them, they love them. They would never endanger them. Changing routes takes time; give them time. And again, think about the difference between safety and convenience and your priorities.

Joanna Kerlin Steerman

josteerman@bellsouth.net