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WakeEd
The WakeEd blog is devoted to discussing and answering questions about the major issues facing the Wake County school system: the reassignment of thousands of students, the conversion of traditional-calendar schools to a year-round schedule, the district's response to growth and the school construction program.
WakeEd is maintained by The News & Observer's Wake schools reporter, T. Keung Hui. While Keung posts information and analysis on the issues, keep us posted on your suggestions, questions, tips and what you're doing to cope with the changes in Wake's schools.
Backing away from letting kids ride different buses home
It looks like parents aren't going to have quite as much flexibility as they would have hoped having their kids ride different buses in the afternoon.
Last month, the school board told staff to put in policy wording that officially says principals can allow students to ride on different buses. But at the urging of principals, board members asked staff to strip out the wording on Tuesday.
Here's the quick background:
Currently, you're only supposed to be on the bus that you've been assigned to ride. Still, some principals allow kids to ride on a different bus if they get a note in writing from the parents.
Vice chairman Kevin Hill, a former principal, asked last month that staff include wording that specifically allowed parents to make requests for kids to ride different buses. He had thought that not including the wording would leave principals liable if they gave the ok and something happened to the student.
Staff obliged and presented a revised draft policy on Tuesday that included the wording Hill and other board members wanted.
But principals raised concerns with board members that including the wording could actually make them more liable if something happened.
Board member Patti Head said that she was concerned about putting so much work on schools to keep track of these requests at a time when funding for positions is being cut.
Board member Beverley Clark agreed with the concerns.
"We’ve opened a door of confusion," Clark said. "What we intended to address was that emergency situation that principals were addressing anyway rather than a permissive situation.”
Hill suggested yanking out the wording and instead going back to leaving it up to principals to handle requests based on extenuating circumstances.
The board will vote on the policy and R&P on Tuesday. Board members said they'll waive second reading to approve it on one vote so it can be in effect before the 2009-10 school year starts in July.
Click here to view the draft policy and R&P that the board reviewed. Scratch out Item D on the R&P on requesting one-time permission to ride a different bus home.
T. Keung Hui
T. Keung Hui covers Wake schools.
Comments
Wake county schools are screwed up
Thu, 06/11/2009 - 06:24 — Triscut25I agree that Wake County schools are screwy. We never had these issues where I came from. I mean, it's not rocket science. They are crazy not to let kids ride with other kids home, ESPECIALLY since they are making a rediculous schedule letting kids out early one day a week. I mean, it's all good and great for the stay at home mom's who's life is able to revolve around the school's beck and call, however, for those of us with careers, that is totally not fair. We take and pick my son up from school everyday as it is now, but one time last year we were going to be at the hospital delivering our third child and wrote a note so my son could ride home with his cousin, who by the way, lives 2 streets over, and they said no way. My brother in law had to take off work early to go pick them up from school because they only had one car at the time, and he happened to have it. Rather than allowing my son to ride 5 minutes down the road with A FAMILY MEMBER....ONCE....to ensure he had proper supervision with his aunt, who was already home, EVERYONE had to be inconvenienced. By the way, the point of writting letters is so that the liability factor is on the parents...not the school. REDICULOUS! I don't recommend Wake Co. Schools to ANYONE!
I have never seen such a
Wed, 06/10/2009 - 19:53 — debradperI have never seen such a screwed up school dist I have lived here for 7 months , and planning to move have you ever thought about letting kids go to school in the same neighborhood in such they live instead of busing kids all over nc get real people . Who is this so called board I believe they need to go back to school if they did they would know all of this crap benifits them they don't care about our kids get real we need a new board who knows what work they don't have a clue
Change the Board!
Thu, 06/11/2009 - 22:20 — SDR256Yes! In October we can vote in four new candidates and change the composition of the board to one guided by common sense. Please check the Wake Schools Community Alliance website www.wakesca.org for the list of candidates which will be committed to listening to families and concerned taxpayers. Even if you don't live in a district where there is a candidate up for re-election, you know by now that you're affected nonetheless. So, please consider joining us. And of course everyone is welcome to DONATE!
Bus capacity?
Wed, 06/10/2009 - 13:12 — RonBI know the "my child/childern are the only ones that matter" mentality is the rule here, but it is obvious the previous posters don't understand logistics.
Real common sense says that if parents could send their student(s) to a YMCA, or the mall, or anywhere else with a note, that could easilly create lopsided bus ridership to facilities that offer afterschool care. It is because the school board has common sense that fringe folks hate them so.
If parents want to have their kids picked up from that location, so be it, but then the kid would be riding the same bus they took in the morning.
Of course some people think they deserve special treatment that everyone else should get less to pay for it.
Claris grew up in eastern
Tue, 08/11/2009 - 23:45 — patric548Claris grew up in eastern North Carolina and has lived in Raleigh for the last 14 years. He attended N.C. State. Since 2003 he has worked for York Simpson
Adison High School
...
Wed, 06/10/2009 - 15:18 — SideburnsThis "common sense" idea was originated by Board member Kevin Hill -- not "fringe folks". Fortunately, we have smart prinicpals in the county that recognized the problems this would have created.
"We’ve opened a door of confusion,"
Wed, 06/10/2009 - 10:58 — g88ky07Bev Jr., and your lost cast of many, that door has been opened for yearsssssssssssssssssssssss!
And I just when I thought
Wed, 06/10/2009 - 09:12 — CaryMomof4And I just when I thought they'd finally gotten something right. Isn't it better to let kids ride a different bus to somewhere they are safe and supervised if they're space available than to let them go home to an empty house? And with the new wacky schedule that changes every day there's an even greater need this year.
Oh Good Grief
Wed, 06/10/2009 - 08:33 — srhudson06Why do they make everything so hard?
They change the hours the kids are in school on an almost weekly basis. How are some parents supposed to keep up. I would think there is more liability leaving kids at home unattended. Let the parents send a note, let the kids ride whatever bus they need to in order to get somewhere after school. Is a lack of common sense a requirement for school board officials?