Budget Cuts Effect School Bus Service

Alabama Mobile  Budget cuts force the Mobile County Public School System’s Transportation Department to eliminate several bus routes.
by Mobile County Public School System
Published: Wed, May 14, 2008 - 10:17 am CST
Due to budget cuts, both at the state and local levels, the Mobile County Public School System’s Transportation Department must eliminate transportation for special programs.

Students who are on transfer to schools for special instructional programs such as EPIC / IB / CIS / HCAP, etc. will no longer receive bus transportation provided by the school system.

Students attending Clark, Dunbar, and Phillips Magnet schools will continue to receive bus transportation. However, these routes will be changed to improve cost efficiency for the 2008-09 school year. Route information will be available after August 1st.

Saraland City Public School System students who plan to continue at the magnet school they are currently attending will not be provided transportation.

New federal regulations no longer allow minority to majority / majority to minority transfers. Therefore, students currently on minority to majority / majority to minority transfers will not be provided transportation beginning with the 2008-09 school year. If continuation transfers are approved for next school year, all current minority to majority / majority to minority transfers will be coded as hardship.

School Choice transportation will be provided from the sending school to the receiving school, i.e., students who are zoned for Gilliard Elementary School and are on a School Choice Transfer to another elementary school will be picked up and returned to Gilliard Elementary. It is the parent/guardian’s responsibility to ensure that the student is at the site of pick-up on time to board the bus that will transport the student to the school to which the student is enrolled.

If you have questions regarding transportation, please call the Transportation Department at 251.221.5260. If you have questions regarding transfers, please call Student Support Services at 251.221.4256.
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Justme, I have to agree with the recommendation regarding using computer programs to map out efficient routes. It’s idiotic not to use resources wisely.

Speaking of resources, why is it that Murphy has so many football assistant coaches? Who pays their wages? Why don’t we do routine maintenance on HVAC instead of buying new when the existing units succombed to poor maintenance?

As for the budget, many other school districts throughout the country are facing the same issues. The school board was negligent in not overseeing the budget better. Someone should have been asking more questions. Others shouldn’t be afraid for their jobs if they speak up.

I won’t even touch on the comments regarding non-English speaking students.

I agree with sweetnsour -

“Why don’t we just get rid of the Spanish interpreters for these non tax paying folks who need to go back to where they came from or speak the language…..”

This would save us a ton of money.

Interestingly enough, I haven’t heard a single mention of cutting athletic programs.  But, this is Alabama and who needs to read, write, or do math when you can throw a ball.  The greatest tragedy of the budget cuts is the loss of aides for special ed.  If the school board members (who have only recently learned how to read a budget) forfeited their pay for a minimum of 1 year and there were cuts of the multi-thousand dollar salaries at the Central Office, then and only then will I begin to believe that all options have been explored. 

The school board members are always telling us that they only want to serve the children of the community; how about putting your money where your mouth is instead of in your pockets???

I don’t know much but have an idea here.  My son is in the elite choir he is a good singer.  They are cutting music teachers and bus drivers.  Why don’t we just get rid of the Spanish interpreters for these non tax paying folks who need to go back to where they came from or speak the language and save our bus drivers and extracurricular activity teachers who were doing a great job in the first place.  The school system did not have a budget problem ten years ago. Do the math.  We had plenty of money in the school system till non tax payers started costing us money….....

You’s save a lot of money not allowing drivers to use the buses for their shopping, allowing bus routes that are not laid out properly to save time and $, having buses drive miles before they pick up their riders, driving buses to meetings, allowing buses be available for anyone to drain off some gas here and their for other vehicles use, not having locking gas caps, not knowing what amount of gas is required per bus per route and checking records with computer programs to start.

Cutting school bus transportation but the school board paid tons of money to keep Shaw High School open for ten kids. I still do not understand why money was spent to keep Shaw open as long as it was. None of this makes any since.

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