30 October 2009

When the rubber meets the road

Subtitled: Our tax dollars at work

About a week ago, my daughter came home from school with a note in her backpack that her bus pick-up time was going to be three minutes earlier. The following school day, a note came home that said her pick-up time would be three minutes later (back to square one). Today (Friday) the bus dropped her off and the driver and bus aide informed me that my daughter would be on a different bus with a different driver and aide starting on Monday, but that they didn't know any other information, like what time for pick-up and delivery.

Moments after my daughter arrived home, her teacher called with updated details. Monday morning my daughter will be on a different bus with different driver and different aide, but the pick-up time will be the same.

To think of all that is going on behind the scenes to orchestrate a bus schedule is mind-bloggling. No wonder the cost per student (in tax payer dollars) is so high when something completely removed from what is taught in the classroom monopolizes and wastes so much time, energy, resources and dollars!

Stepping down off my soap box now to go get a piece of candy.

2 comments:

Allison said...

You are giving them WAY TOO much credit.

It's freaking NOT that hard to schedule. Are you in St. Paul It's because they let the bus contractor schedule it for THEIR own optimal solution that these problem occur.

There is no excuse for this. Yes, it wastes time, money, and energy. But it does that for no good reason. Don't think that the above silliness is necessary.

swissmiss said...

This is my daughter's second year in the early childhood special ed program. Last year it was laughable the number of times they changed her schedule by a mere few minutes. I went to public schools as a kid and rode the bus and it was nothing close to this logistical nightmare that they are creating!! There are less than ten kids on her bus! And, yes, it's the SPPS system.