If there are any skeptics left who think it’s a good idea to cut the school buses that run from Garden Gardens and Oak Courts to Newton School, we suggest they take the Kia Burton-King challenge.
Burton-King, who has been described as an advocate for public schools, challenged any School Committee member who wants to eliminate the two bus routes to walk from her home in Greenfield Gardens to Newton School.
The challenge is especially pertinent now that snow banks line our city streets, and while the ability of drivers to see little walkers is impaired.
The most direct route for those grade schoolers is the 0.7 miles along Elm Street, where Burton-King notes sidewalks aren’t always cleared and crosswalks aren’t adequate. Without clear sidewalks, you’ll find schoolchildren walking in the travel lane, which all too many of us probably speed along on our way about town.
Walking the back way along Woodard Road where there are stretches without sidewalks? Worse problem.
At the moment, the two bus routes are proposed to be cut from next school year’s budget in lieu of three more crossing guards. The crossing guards might help get students safely across some intersections, but that doesn’t help on those long stretches without sidewalks.
While we appreciate the superintendent’s need to find savings in the budget, this may not be the smartest place to cut.
Greenfield Transportation Coordinator Edward Voudren recognizes the problem and told the school board on Monday as it deliberated next year’s spending plan. “At this point, I don’t think we’re ready to cut two buses and safely do it,” he said, also noting the practical concern over liability. One accident could make this idea pound-foolish.
Many of the children from the two housing projects are from families of limited means without cars or the flexibility to drive their children to school daily. For these residents, the lack or existence of buses are an essential safety concern.
To their credit, the School Committee members spent a significant amount of time talking about the bus routes Monday, and we are glad to see they seemed to agree with Voudren.
School Committee Vice Chairwoman Katie Caron spoke for her chairwoman Adrienne Nunez and other members when she said: “It’s really not a great plan to cut the bus routes to our most at-risk students.”
We hope that means this particular idea will be replaced with another proposal that carries less risk and more fairness.
At the same time, we must commend Superintendent Jordana Harper, her Budget Director Stephen Nembirkow and the budget subcommittee for holding next year’s school spending to roughly $20 million in a way that will see a 7.5 percent jump in spending but just a 1.6 percent, or $300,000, increase in what local taxpayers pay.
None of us is ever happy paying more for government services each year, but in our experience, containing spending hikes in the current economic environment to under 2 percent is no small feat. But this year, let’s make sure we don’t do it by risking the safety of our youngest residents.