Peters Township cracks down on school bus riders
With classes set to begin Aug. 29 in the Peters Township School District, the administration has issued an update on bus procedures that prohibits students, in any grade, from riding a bus other than the one to which he or she is assigned.
"It basically, came down to safety," said Shelly Belcher, district spokeswoman, of the reason for the change.
The school board, in an effort to reduce costs, has evaluated the bus routes to determine if there are any areas of excess.
Many of the buses, Belcher said, are running near capacity and an unexpected number of additional riders could cause overcrowding.
"In addition, should there be an incident on the way, we can quickly pull the (manifest) list and get the phone numbers for the affected kids and get a message to their parents," Belcher added.
If there are children on the bus who are not assigned to the route, notifying parents or guardians would be more difficult and time consuming.
"Luckily, we haven't had any incident like that," she said.
One point that didn't change is elementary students may ride home in a car with another student when the parents have signed a permission note that was provided to the teacher in the morning. Copyright Observer Publishing Co.
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42 comments:
Are you kidding? I work three days a week and my child takes a bus to the baby sitters house three days a week. My daughter is only at the babysitters house for an hour until I get home. Now what? Wait, the family down the street has their children take a different bus to a local day care center.
Apparently the district also did not plan on informing parents of this little ditty until AFTER school starts. Suddenly, on a school day, when parents are at work, they are going to tell little Johny when he brings in his little bus note, that he can not go to his baby sitters after school?
As someone else said blog, where our this school board? Oh, thats right, too busy closely monitors the sports teams.
Oh well....looks like more car riders. I guess I will now have to pay the sitter to pick my child after school.
http://www.postgazette.com/pg/11230/1168010-58.stm
new assistant to the superintendent
http://www.postgazette.com/pg/11230/1168071-58.stm
Why not implement "pay-to-ride half-day" busing?
We have to pay for everything else in this school district. Let the schooling out of district parents of students ante up for something besides just taxes.
I don't understand. When a child brought in a slip they were OK to ride another bus and the principal had a record of that to add to the buss manifest should there be a need to account for someone. What happened with this? It was safe. Maybe Mrs. Belcher and the super need to live in the community and look at the buses as they are not at capacity. in fact many are below below capacity. maybe in the name of safety of our community we need to get rid of some of our top administrators?
Mrs. Belcher lives in Peters Township.
Why can't our school board "crack down" on district employees and make them actually provide correct information to parents!
Bus routes have obviously changed around a lot this year. I have recently spoken with about a dozen different high school parents and the buses for their students are arriving consistently about 15 min to a half hour earlier than las year. Some of the high school buses come as early as 6:40 am.
I wish the district would publish the entire bus routes again. When kids progress from one school to another bus routes changes as do the student occupants of the bus. It helps parents to know if a child that has previously bullied your child is going to be on their bus or not.
How can my child's bus drop off at 2:23?
High school lets out at 2:30 doesn't it?
Don't they give the kids time to get their books from their locker and instruments from the band room?
My child was told by the school last year to take the high school bus to the middle school for an after school varsity athletic practice. I guess if the school tells them to ride another bus, that will be ok and safe to change the manifest? Either that, or maybe they will provide a special bus for those cases?
August 23, 2011 8:57 AM
If that be true then we are really really in trouble as she is the spokesperson for the district and should know more about her community before taking the outrageous positions she defends. That is if she is not too afraid to speak up or face walking the plank like so many others.
Maybe some people need to open their eyes. There are five schools in this community. For two of those schools, the majority of buses are packed with three in a seat and very unsafe. That is one of the reasons we have so many people that take their kids to school and so much car traffic around the elementary schools. If they are going to pack the kids tighter because of "budget cuts" I believe they can expect a lot more car traffic!
I do not believe the district when they say they are doing this for safety reasons. It is yet another play on words to side step what they are really doing, another ruse. They are probably assigning a lot more students to each bus and if additional students were added to a bus, it would probably really be unsafe, due to overcrowding, and really a serious safety concern.
Mark my words, there will be more car riders when over half the bus is required to fit three in a seat. My kids are on the next to the last stop before arriving to school and always ended up getting shoved on the floor. This is for the district to save money, not for student safety.
August 23, 2011 9:36 PM
Excuse me? It is her responsibility as the communication person to do just that..."communicate". When she sends communications, it is from from the school district not her own communication or opinion! Please show me any district communication that has been sent that she "defends" the school district, or where she states her opinion. It is her job description to send communications from the school district not take positions.
"Why can't our school board "crack down" on district employees and make them actually provide correct information to parents!"
Yes PLEASE....From curriculum to online classes to the graduation project. PLEASE!
Quotes from 8-26-08 OR article when Nina Zetty was appointed superintendent:
She knows listening to students, staff, parents and concerned citizens is important. Zetty also knows the district is well respected in the educational community.
"I don't believe you are ever at the top of your game," she said. "Part of the goal is to maintain the high standards. We have a vision: 'Learning from the past, listening to the present and leading for the future.'"
What in the world happened????????? We don't see this person anywhere but the polar opposite person everywhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is where the ruse began.
I find the title to this article amusing "PT cracks down on school bus riders"; it sounds like school bus riders are doing something wrong.
I agree, I think this "crack down" also restrains the high school from telling kids to take the bus to MS to do their volunteer work, after school athletics, etc. Does anyone in this administration, or school board, ever bother to talk to, or consider, anyone else before they put out an edict? Perhaps those instances will be exceptions to the "crack down", but they did not communicate that to people!
To...August 24, 2011. 8:28
You wanted an example of something besides purely passing along communication--from an earlier article on budget cuts:
“We had to make a $3 million cut,” said Communications Coordinator Shelly Belcher. "So we sat down to figure out how to plan for this. Other districts have had to cut activities or athletic programs entirely. Our goal was to continue every program—and we have.”
With a price tag now added to everything from Peters Township Marching Band to Future Business Leaders of America, parents and booster groups have “been ridiculously supportive” of helping students afford participation, according to Belcher.
She uses "we" an awful lot in there!
they did not communicate that to people!
August 25, 2011 12:47 PM
This is the trademark of this administration. Keep us all in the dark and you know what comes with that scenario!
Dear Friends, I don't know where to start.Online classes are a disaster, the graduation project is a disaster, rumor or fact has it the superintendent was unbearable toward the secretaries and staff in central office this week, board members who used to care about the district so much have little support from the community and rightly so. The PR person does her job of making everything seem fine but you can't put lipstick on a district to hide the facts. There are few followers of the superintendent. The biggest applause at the teacher's inservice was not for the super but for Toni S. when her picture was shown. The best people we have had have left and the newly hired don't know what they have got themselves into. Though the PR lady will try and thwart it, we need to get the PG to do an article on the rise and fall of PTSD. Then maybe will things change. We have to go public.
August 24, 2011 8:29 AM
I concur with your comments! There are a few things that really need fixed for the sake of the education.
Key words right there: "...they did not communicate that to people!". The district frequently communicates information to students but not parents! Even when they communicate to parents, they leave out pertinent information as sighted in in this bus "crack down". It sounds like it means for EVERYONE, but there also seems to be very valid instances where they might have an exception. BUT, we certainly were not communicated that information.
Even during the school year, at least at the high school, we heard the same mantra from various levels of district employees "..but we told the kids" or "the kids know". I am referring to questions many of us have asked about the new graduation requirements. If your kid was ill and missed any key information days, they were really out of luck. Mine were told to get information from a friend.
As long as I have been living, kids need prodded and reminded, not only by teachers but by parents! How can parents be helpful and supportive of teachers and other district employees, if we, ourselves, do not know what the heck kids are to be doing?
Our family had no idea about college stuff until we hired someone to guide us through that process. It was quite overwhelming and shocking!
"crack down"
How about we crack down on some of the horrific decisions being made that make kids out to be the bad guys when if they are they are the minority.
I agree with earlier post, this school district is, and has been, on a decline. We do not have good, qualified leaders in administrative positions. Would be nice to see an article profiling the decline!
Our family had no idea about college stuff until we hired someone to guide us through that process. It was quite overwhelming and shocking!
August 26, 2011 11:52 AM
Neither did we until we paid a substantial amount of money for someone to help us (Well worth the money).If you are waiting for the guidance office to tell you what you need to do for college, you might as well forget it as they do not know either!!!! What a sin, why do I pay the outrageous taxes I do for what?
The building administrators do a fine job. It is the "Main" administrator position that everyone is upset with. Three more years of this !!!!!
THEY see what their new bus rider policy got them yesterday, more car riders than ever! Traffic backed up on McMurray Road, one elderly traffic lady who seemed terribly confused, talk about a safety issue?
We paid for college assistance as well. It certainly was worth the money. They were able to tell us what colleges were good for particular subject interests and told us about things to look for in a college that we never thought of. Not only did they take the time to spend with our child, they actually took the time to speak with parents as well. I guess with scheduling, transcripts and daily student counseling; out guidance department just does not have time for that.
Don't worry - your kids can go on whatever bus they choose because the school NOR thee bus drivers pay any attention to procedures. They don't know if kids are getting on/off right stops.
Total incompetence on day one for transportation. How can they not run through these routes before the first day of school!?
"The building administrators do a fine job. It is the "Main" administrator position that everyone is upset with. Three more years of this !!!!!"
Who is "everyone"?
You speak for "everyone"?
That's nice of you.
I am not happy at all with the Super, but I also can not stand people that say they speak for "everyone". Get over yourself.
Some of us have our own opinions and I also do not like specific building leadership as well! There is one building administrator in particular that should have never ever been hired. No, I am not naming names and will handle it through the proper channels and not a blog. Just being a hater accomplishes nothing.
I am perfectly pleased with this school district except for online classes, the counseling department, monetary emphasis on sports and the graduation project. None of these graduation requirements should have been shoved onto the class of 2013 or 2014, when the district did not provide the resources for the students. It is just wrong.
awe....does the new bus schedule make perfect little johny have to get up 10 minutes earlier? yes, you would have to take him to school because it is too early.
All I want to know is, can the bus drivers drive any faster? Wow....
All I want to know is, can the bus drivers drive any faster? Wow....
August 31, 2011 3:10 PM
Only when they are talking on their cell phone while driving with students on the bus!
All I want to know is, can the bus drivers drive any faster? Wow....
August 31, 2011 3:10 PM
Some of them are in such a hurry, they pass on the right. East McMurray (westbound traffic) at Thompsonville/Bebout intersection. Way too many cars pass on the right there but, school buses doing it is ridiculously dangerous.
I am perfectly pleased with this school district except for online classes, the counseling department, monetary emphasis on sports and the graduation project. None of these graduation requirements should have been shoved onto the class of 2013 or 2014, when the district did not provide the resources for the students. It is just wrong.
August 31, 2011 9:44 AM
If you are so pleased with this school district why do you have a list of exceptions a mile long? Hello?????????
August 31, 2011 10:19 AM
What is wrong with you? Why bash the kids with your bad attitude. Since the apple does not fall from the tree I hope you reap what you have sown as far as this attitude goes.
to Aug 31 10:19 am
Get a life!
August 31, 2011 3:10 PM
hahaha....probably after all the construction is completed!
Yes, how dare you bash kids! It is entirely unreasonable for the school district to require them to get up 10 or 15 minutes earlier just to take a bus to school. I think parents should sue for pain and suffering.
More mixed messages? What is it now....first everyone must sit in a seat at the stadium football games, now I understand there has been addtional seating brought in and lines painted for standing zones?
No wonder this district is so screwed up everything that comes out in writing is changed a hundred times. Will someone please make a decision and stand behind it? Aren't you all embarassed at how screwed up this district is? It certainly is true the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. Please change for the sake of the kids!
Sadly, the right hand and the left hand both belong to the same person.
they did not communicate that to people!
August 25, 2011 12:47 PM
This is the trademark of this administration. Keep us all in the dark and you know what comes with that scenario!
August 25, 2011 6:00 PM
The only thing we seem to be concerned about is voting for the school board director's son for althete of the week. What an important communication? You have got to be kidding me! Again I ask what is going on here? What a disgrace.
Whatever happened to the good, old days where the school district and administration focused on what was important and trusted the parents and the kids to figure out these arrangements out on their own? PTSD has slowly evolved into a meddling, do-nothing district full of complainers and agenda-driven opportunists.
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