Field Local School District bus cuts

Because of several failed levies, Field Local has had to cut busing for high school students and those living within two miles of the district’s schools.  In her video, Nicole Septaric discusses how this issue is affecting high school students and in her print story, Cassaundra Smith focuses on how it is affecting parents.

[rpavideo caption = “Nicole Septaric asks one high school student how he is personally affected by bus cuts in the district”]RPA_03_Septaric_FieldBusCuts[/rpavideo]

Parents struggle with Field bus cuts

by:  Cassaundra Smith

BRIMFIELD, OHIO – For Joan Weiss, spending about an hour and a half transporting her children to and from Field Local Schools has become a part of her daily routine.

Because of several failed levies, the district has cut busing for high school students and to all those living within two miles of the schools.  And while this is perfectly legal under Ohio law, parents struggle with it.   Weiss has children in both the middle school and Brimfield Elementary School, making the commute even more spread out and time consuming.

“I do it because I have to, but it’s very inconvenient,” she said.

Aside from the time she spends driving and waiting for school to let out, what makes these trips so inconvenient is the fact she has a full-time job as a nurse.

“Basically, I have to work the night shift because I have to pick them up,” Weiss said.

Mary Anne Baldinger spends about two hours taking her grandchildren to and from school every day because their parents work.  She said she doesn’t feel the bus cuts really save anything.

“What it does is just put the burden on everyone else and the money that they’re saving, they’re not using wisely anyway, so they need to look at how they’re spending their money,” she said.  “The most important part is the safety for these children, and I don’t think that’s a consideration.”

[pullquote]”The most important part is the safety for these children, and I don’t think that’s a consideration.”  — Mary Anne Baldinger[/pullquote]

Tim Fox, director of operations for Field Local Schools, said no one in the superintendent’s office, the transportation office or the treasurer’s office knows exactly how much the bus cuts are saving the district.

Baldinger said she feels this is information the school should have.

“Anybody that does the budget should know the money that’s coming in and what’s going out, so that is not a good statement,” she said.  “If you run your household, you know how much money you have and you know how much money you owe and what’s left over, so, what’s the problem?”

The solution to this busing problem, said David Heflinger, the superintendent of Field Local Schools, is getting the upcoming November levy passed.

“Certainly I understand the difficulty facing parents when you go to the two mile limit, but really in order to restore busing . . . we really need to be able to have new funds coming in,” he said.

Should the levy pass, the new funds will first restore what has been cut.