Letter to the Editor

NEVC transportation

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Dear Editor;

Mr. Wortman, if you are going to write about NEVC transportation, PLEASE print it right. If you do not know it all, it only makes you look bad, not us.

We have three bus routes, not two. The bus you were following loads its first child at 6:40 a.m. It is back at the high school in Walker at 7:30 a.m. to unload and then proceed to Schell City with the elementary students, making up to five stops and a turn around, as you know, arriving at Schell no later than 8:05 leaving the elementary students. That is 15 minutes less than you claim.

The morning you were following that bus it was raining and the roads were slick because of fresh grading in some areas and none in others (southwest corner of district). Since that is your area maybe you can improve on this making our time shorter due to better road conditions.

Our buses are inspected in September in Nevada and again in February by the Missouri Highway Patrol. Our break-down was not due to lack of inspection, but from equipment failure, like when your car breaks down, even when you drive it everyday.

We greatly appreciate Nevada leasing us a bus. We have no complaint with them.

It takes Nevada from 20 to 30 minutes to load students from the five schools they have, and then around 10 minutes to make it to the edge of town due to traffic and everyone getting off work, before starting their route. The trip to Metz or Rich Hill is 70 minutes, including unloading students. In the morning, their first student is loaded at 6:20 a.m., and they arrive at the last school by 8 a.m. That is equal to our routes.

They have one-way routes to keep time down. That is a lot of empty buses going back to Nevada burning fuel, since their budget has also been cut by the state. That means at least three or four will have to travel from Schell City alone. Twenty four direct miles times three buses equals 72 miles; twice a day is 144 miles traveled with no student being hauled.

I am the one who stopped you and asked what you were doing the morning you were following the bus. You failed to tell me the truth and it resulted in your being reported to the sheriff as a threat. What happened to all this honesty you keep talking about?

Transportation is not more affordable. Most parents do not get off at three so will not be able to assist with transportation, or do you expect us to all take our children to school to help out R-5? I personally see more students riding the bus because most parents will not be able to afford running their child to school, returning home, and then back to pick them up.

Sincerely

Cheryl Bogardus

NEVC taxpayer, voter and transportation advisor.