Save Our School Buses

[Krauser012345]

Wait, I know that kid, Camo backpack, red jacket, orange hair....DId he flunk?

[doug1werner]

Walk-the-Walk before you Talk-the-Talk

I challenge the RRISD Board to Walk-the-Walk. Each person responsible for this decision should be required to walk the exact round-trip route at least one time -the same route, at the same time, that the children are expected to perform each day for the entire school year.

I respectfully submit, if you have not performed this task yourself you are uninformed and have no business requiring others to perform the task!

[garymsherman]

So if the RRISD board did walk this route once, would this satisfy you and would you drop your opposition?

[cv2011]

You know he won't. As people have perhaps unwisely stated right here the issue is about working parents who say they are unable to make arrangements to get their kids to school. It has nothing to do with the hill or the length of the walk. There are kids in the district that already walk farther along streets that are busier.

[dkozack]

Who are you and how do you know he won't. I challenge the board and cv2011 to walk daily for a week UP and DOWN with 25 lbs and also show that you can do a day worth of school work. So till then, SHUT UP and dont make assumptions.

[cv2011]

Good grief. You'd think the hil was Mt. Everest :-)

[needabus2]

I live up from CVMS towards 183. My kids walk today on the same busy Spicewood Springs Rd the Mountain is complaining about but it's busier at our end. Our houses are small but we work hard for what little we have. Our kids safety is just as important to us but when we asked for buses we were told no. It's not fair that only the Mountain gets buses. It should be equal for all. Either everyone whose kids have to walk on Spicewood Springs Rd should get buses or no one should get buses.

[donnamilhaz]

Your comparsion and fairness evaluation is totally out of context. If you are not aware, towards the east side that is from 183 the land is flat - so you wont have to climb UP and DOWN on steep hills. Kids walking on the other side will have to trudge UP and DOWN through the steep inclines of the canyon on winding roiads with poor visibility.

[needabus2]

Oh, so I see, even though our speed limit is 45 instead of 35, even though we have multiple major intersections the kids have to cross, even though 183 traffic speeds through those intersections when 183 is a parking lot, even though our kids sometimes walk with the homeless guys, and even though our sidewalks are just as narrow and close to Spicewood Springs Rd, .... I see, none of that matters because your kids have to "trudge UP and DOWN" the hills.

[donnamilhaz]

I did not say NO to your request for buses. My attitude is not that of a sour loser like you - Just coz your area did not get it should not mean, we on the hill should not be getting it. Why did you not organize and come up and speak for it?.

BTW around here on this side the average TAX we pay is about $11,500+, whereas there are others who pay nothing or merely 1000 to 2000. So we in effect subsidize a lot of other people. That is one thing to bear in mind.

[cv2011]

Not everyone on "this side" is like this. We may pay more taxes but we do not expect special services in exchange for it. Some of us believe our money should stay in the classrooms where to benefit all kids equally. Unfortunately a few loud parents expect society and the government to take care of their kids. They use their taxes to rationalize their "needs" and will talk weak school boards into giving in, diverting scarce money from education to transportation.

[donnamilhaz]

Good Try. School boards take pragmatic decision based on concern and safety of kids and also factor in from where their main source of revenue comes from - from neighborhoods who pay $10,000 as taxes. From "this side" y dont you post your address - very obvious you are not. Sorry not convincing . It's not a few loud parents, all of us were there during McNeil and Wetwood hearings. You were probably hiding and the lone person. Unfortunate ones' like you plot against school boards' own interest.

[cv2011]

ROFL :-) You better take another look at which demographics elected the board and where they are spending you $10,000 in taxes. I can assure you it's not over here.

[romagnakelt]

cv2011--You really are not taking into account the fact that so many parents have full time jobs--they simply can't take time off from work every afternoon to wait in traffic for 3o+ mintues to pick up their children--and I can assure you, as a healthy fit adult, that the walk is not feasible on a daily basis--not as loaded down as these kids are with 10-15 lb. packs, lunchboxes, musical instruments, etc. When DST changes, this means 35-40 miles every week in darkness.

[cv2011]

C. A. R. P. O. O. L.

[dkozack]

Well its common intelligence to carpool and even much more so to have a bigger thing like a BUSPOOL. You prove you are one big C.A.R.F.O.O.L. The blatant abuse of CARS causes this country's worst problems. How about buses to School and buses to work - you sound downright stupid, not knowing economics and having a self serving agenda.

If you take out the salaries of all the RRISD bums who are deciding on this issue it will easily save the $350K that they are planinng to save by risking kids.

[cv2011]

Do you ride a bus to work?

[live123fx]

Hey cv2011 - Do you really live in CVMS neighborhood? I really doubt it and you are just one of those who is part of the decision making to cut the bus service. Why are you hiding under a pseudo name, if you really are a parent why dont you post your comments with your real name instead of hiding behind and trolling this page. Sorry - You lack any credibility from the way you write.

I would rather much desire you get off your comfy chair and walk with your kids UP and DOWN and b4 commenting.

[cv2011]

Isn't this like the pot calling the kettle black, Mr/Mrs live123fx-whoever-you-are? At least I'm making some constructive alternate suggestions. And yes I regularly walkeboth hills both ways back to back. It's not a bad climb at all once you've done it a few times.

[donnamilhaz]

Your suggestions are netiher constructive nor a reasonable alternative. You seem to think very illogicaly - The question is not about you walking up and down the hill (which I very much doubt), but make your kids walk it. Anyway I think you are doing a good job of showing how much time you have up your sleeve monitoring this and video page and posting. Keep it up - we are all enjoying your funny comments.

[cv2011]

I was responding to the poster who suggested that I walk the hills by pointing out that I do it quite regularly. And yes, my kids do sometimes walk it with me as well, and also ride bikes. The Spicewood Springs grade is not bad. It's just long. But you get used to both of them after walking them a few times. There are also sidewalks on both sides. You don't have to walk next to the Canyon if it scares you.

[dkozack]

The point is not you walking or your kids walking occassionally. You and your kids should walk the TALK you are making here continuously for at least a month. Occassional walk anyone can do. So get your facts straight. Please we are all missing your illogical fantasies - keep posting them, because it is such fun to read.

[cv2011]

Exactly which facts are not straight?

[donnamilhaz]

The reason the video was shown with kids walking is because the RRISD delcared it as a WALK ZONE. What does a WALK ZONE mean - it means RRISD feels that the kids can WALK - Do you get it? cv2011 - if you do really drive as you claim, drive slowly for the kids who are walking. Looks like you dont have the safety of kids in mind.

[cv2011]

I do drive slow around kids, even in the neighborhoods, thank you very much. And don't preach to me about safety. I've had those busses pass me going way too fast down the hill.  What will happen some day when a bus rolls over that guardrail and into the Canyon? Tell me again how many seat belts those busses have on them?

[donnamilhaz]

cv2011 - is just either one of the people making the decision to cut the bus service or a question of sour grapes. Parents dropping off is not a safe option NOR is it economical NOR is it environment friendly.

The buses are packed - Come stand in Mountain neighborhood, OR Spicewood enclave and every stop has atleast 10 kids getting in and atleast 10-15 who get off the buses. So keep your biased opinion to yourself.

Do you want to have the blood of an innocent child in your hands?

[cv2011]

Parent's dropping off is perfectly safe for the 99% of families who drop off. This is just about a priviledged few that don't want to be too inconvenienced to take care of their own kids.

[kolicsb]

I don't consider idling while waiting to drop off your kids something environmentally friendly.

Teachers/volunteers could use their time more efficiently (perhaps education?) if they did not have to help the traffic with drop-offs. You will not find a line item for this in the RRISD budget, but it sure is not free.

I think it sets a good example if kids are encourage to use this form of public transportation. Perhaps, when they grow up they'll see that public transportation has some value.

[cv2011]

Can you spell carpool. C. A. R. P. O. O. L. I'm part of a 5 kid carpool where we each take our kids one day a week. My kids have 30-45 minutes more time every day for homework or play by not riding the bus. Our carpool doesn't spit out diesel fumes everywhere. If everyone would carpool there would be less traffic and no need for the busses.

[kolicsb]

Do I need to go out and buy an SUV or a minivan, otherwise I can't do a 5-kid carpool with my Civic... :^)

While carpooling is a great concept, there are some inherent flaws with it:

- safety: school buses are way safer than other modes of transportation

- responsibility: I don't want to get sued in case of an accident

- owning a car: carpooling assumes that everybody needs a car, while relying on buses does not. Maybe having 2-3 cars per family is a great concept, I just don't believe in it.

[cv2011]

Actually school busses are not very safe at all. That's one of the reasons that I carpool. Just do a google search for "school bus crashes" or go find the one from youtube with the kids bouncing around and hitting the roof of the bus when it ran off the road.

[kolicsb]

I beg to differ. Statistics are clearly on the side of school buses. If you google for "school bus safety statistics", you will several postings that support this claim. Just because you see horrific plane crashes on CNN, it does not mean that air travel is less safe than riding in a car. You may have had a different experience, though.

[cv2011]

If the Round Rock buses had three point seat belts I would agree with you. But they don't.

[cv2011]

"forced to having to walk" -- The only person "forcing" a kid to walk is that kid's own parents. It's time for parent's to take responsibility and quit putting it off onto everyone else. 99% of CVMS gets to school without walking and without a bus. There are lots of carpools. Busses are a luxury. The economy is very bad right now. Every penny saved is another penny kept in the classroom to teach our kids. It's either that or raise taxes. For most of us money doesn't grow on trees.

[helenmaco]

The $350 K is a HUGE amount to us and we barely scrape by FYI. The $350K price tag is mentioned as not much as in comparison to the value of the loss of one child's life due to a hazardous roads they might be forced to having to walk.

[cv2011]

Let assume for a moment there are really 300 kids riding the busses (which isn't the case). $350K for 300 kids is $1167 per kid that is coming out of the classroom and helping less than 1% of the familes, all of whom can afford their own transportation. What if you were given the option to keep the busses at $1167 per rider? Would you do it?

[donnamilhaz]

I believe kolicsb has more relavent data and not only that you mistated that 350K for only CVMSwhen it is actually a combined amount for several schools - where is your credibility. You alacrity at typing unverified nonsense is only matched by your witlessness.

[cv2011]

Read me reply above.  I didn't claim $350 for CVMS. Mr. Nooner made that claim and is hurting his own case by overstating the numbers. kilicsb even acknowledge that I made a good point :-)

[cv2011]

"only saving aprox $350K" -- wow, you must make a lot more money than I make. $350K is a lot of money where I come and is a lot of money for one middle school. That money should be in the class room, not paying to take a small number of affluent kids to/from school. There's no where close to 50 kids on those busses. Maybe 10 or 12. I've counted as few as six. The school district knows the truth. Let the moms standing with the kids in their robes take the kids to school.

[rogernooner]

the buses from the Mountain are full now. 50 students per bus. take away 6 buses, makes 300 students find another way to school. It's a safety issue / traffic congestion issue. the road are not build for 300 kids walking to school. car pooling will still add as many as 100+ car boddle necking thru CVMS parking lot. Plus they are only saving aprox $350K. It's not worth the childrens safety.

[cv2011]

I'll continue to drop off my kids thank you very much. And get your facts straight. . They are mostly empty. It won't hurt the lines if they stop running. The school district knows how many kids are not on the busses. That's why they are stopping them. Look at the bus in the video. Guess what. It's almost empty! The lines will go faster. The busses take too much room and take forever to turn in and out. I was behind the bus last week and only 3 kids got off.

[2009CVMS]

Our kids ride the buses both ways everyday. They are packed like can of sardines - 3 big middle-scholers to a row with backpacks and all. Most parents work and some can't drive their kids to and from school like you. You may be kinder when it's your kids walking at the edge of the canyon and major roads with heavy traffic zipping by, and when you have to sit in car line for an hour when the buses are gone.

[cv2011]

What a bunch of whiners. Those kids need to excersize more. Seriously I drop off my kids at CVMS every day. The school busses are not even 1/3 full and actually cause more traffic problems than they solve. We are in difficult ecomonic times and CVMS is surrounded by affluent neighborhoods. If you don't want your kids to walk then just take them to school or carpool if that's a problem for you.

[kolicsb]

People usually get personal when they run out of arguments. Is that the case with you, too? It would be nice for you to support your claims with official ridership data. Otherwise, these comments are just your impression of the school bus system in this area, which may or may not reflect reality.

[cv2011]

Go to the public hearings and ask for the data. I did. It matches my observations.

[kolicsb]

Well, I have seen a presentation from Round Rock ISD. Those numbers don't match yours, so your calculation is off. The overall reduction from *middle-school* bus service is $280k. It includes altogether elimination of 20 routes to 4 different middle schools (Canyon Vista (6), Middle School #10 (6), Deerpark (4) Ridgeview (4)). I.e. cost for CV: 6/20 * 280k = 84k.

I could not find any ridership statistics. Using a smaller bus is still an option if ridership level is not satisfactory.

[cv2011]

I did't claim $350 for CVMS. Mr. Nooner the producer of the video made that claim. Read his post. If it is less money and if it is spread out across more schools then he is hurting his own case by overblowing the amount.

[kolicsb]

That's a good point!

[donnamilhaz]

Hey cv2011 - You are sitting behind the safety of a PC cocooned in your home and typing this. If you are so sure why did you not speak at yesterday's hearing to say that you are for removing the bus service OR perhaps you have some ulterior motive. . Shows cawardice of the first order. You dont have the data but just make a stupid assertion.

[cv2011]

I was not at last night's hearings but I was at two of the previuos meetings and I spoke in favor of cutting cost at one of them. If you were there you heard me.

[dkozack]

Oh! Really Did you? - you have the GALL to say that. If you had come to Westwood or McNEil you would have been booted out. Maybe you came but were hiding and cowering under your skirts.

[cv2011]

What a sexist remark, "cowering under your skits". And BTW, GALL was the previous superintendent. He's not there any more in case you haven't noticed.