The question of who has the longest bus rides was also on the minds of school board members on Tuesday.

As noted in today's article, staff stressed that voluntary magnet kids account for a majority of the longest bus rides in the district. But students who are bused for diversity also are in the group with the longest rides.

Bob Snidemiller, senior director for transportation, explained that the longest 5 percent of bus ride times have an average one-way ride of 64 minutes.

One of the more frequently heard arguments is that Wake should use the money it spends on transportation on academics instead.

As noted in today's article, that may not be as easy as it seems. But such talk has picked up this year due to all the unpleasant cuts that are part of the budget proposal.

First off, the state provides $46 million of the district's $63 million transportation budget.