I live in South Florida and my daughter starts Kindergarten in less than two weeks. She is required to attend by state law. (I’ll include the cites if someone disputes this point).
Since we live within 2 miles of the school, the county will not provide bus transportation, so I am responsible for her to get to the school. (I’ll provide the county BOE cite if someone would like to dispute this)
Let’s assume that I am a real unsociable asshole (and don’t ask my wife because she might agree) and that I don’t know anyone who will provide my daughter transportation. As she is only 4, soon to be 5, she can’t walk that far.
Hasn’t the state effectively passed a law requiring me to get a driver’s license, a car, insurance for the same, and buy gasoline from the evil oil companies?
While also arguing that driving is A Privilege and Not a Right?
Discuss…
(Oh, and yes, this is an exercise, so don’t tell me the benefits of having my girl go to school)…
The school district we live in didn’t provide transportation either, and we managed to get our three kids to kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school every day for the 13 years each of them attended.
Since this is an exercise, let’s say you can call a cab, ride a public bus, get a bicycle or carry her in a papoose to school and back.
This is actually pretty typical. Back in the 1980s we almost moved 1.9 miles from my junior high (in Minnesota). My options were public bus transportation at our expense or walking. We wound up moving more like 1.2 miles away, and those were still the options, even with the winters Minnesota gets. I’m a little surprised the cutoff isn’t a little closer in for grades K-3 or so, but IIRC that cutoff was still 1 mile. Parents who didn’t have cars walked their kids to school.
Not saying it doesn’t suck, but you’re by no means the first.
I had to take a taxi with other kids for a couple years. I lived on a highway miles from school, but in the city limits. It would have been at least three miles walking through woods fields and a rail road bridge. Walking the road shoulder would have made it at least another mile, and there wasn’t any sidewalks or pedestrian walkways on the bridges. I was in kindergarten and first grade when I had to take the Taxi or walk. mother is the person to thank in this town that buses pick up children miles from school, but in the city limit. it took her two years and on the third I rode the bus, but paid weekly for my ride for two years.
Your insistence that they require you to drive is bogus. There are work arounds, and your first step is to go before the school board.
A bicycle with one of those tagalongs / instant tandems / trailer bike would work quite well (seriously)
a rickshaw or red flyer wagon could also work.
Brian
walked ~1mile to school at age 6 or 7 (not all the time, but not an uncommon occurance)
Lots of circuses winter in Florida. Ask around and see if you can lease the Human Cannonball’s cannon for the term. Of course getting her home will be a bit harder…
Well, the good news is that you live in Florida so even if you have to walk her the 2 miles to school and back and it happens to be uphill both ways, at least it won’t be snowing.
Do whatever you’d do to otherwise get your kid places (shopping, out to eat, wherever). Problem solved.
Cite: my boss who has a husband, two kids, and zero motorized vehicles between them (and this is living in the mountains, where winters can get very cold and snowy).
I think the bogus thing here isnt so much that its an unreasonable hardship on the parent to get the kid to school or for the kid to walk…
Its that the school buses are picking up all the OTHER kids. And driving right past the kids that they ARENT picking up.
Its a way for the penny pinchers to save a few (probably very small percentage wise) bucks by discriminating by the parents who have the audacity to actually live close to the school.
If money is the real driver, no pun intended, how about not picking up the 10 percent of the kids that live out in the sticks, not the 10 percent that live close.
But that would be unfair to those poor rural folks…well, they choose to live where they live…
How, anyone defends this with a straight face is beyond me.
Blll
Where I grew up in Montana, I believe they only had to provide a bus if you lived at least three miles from school. I lived one mile from school and walked or biked every day. A friend of mine lived two miles away, and no bus route went their direction and the school had no obligation to provide one. Several families lived out that way, so I think the moms carpooled. (I don’t think the moms were too happy about the situation. My mom didn’t care that I had to walk, though. One mile isn’t too bad, but I wouldn’t have wanted to walk two miles to school every day.)
We live within one mile of my daughter’s old elementary school, but got a bus because of the very busy state highway that she would have to cross to get there. If the route is too dangerous to walk, I think you could have a case in front of the school board. I know other neighboring districts here are not so reasonable, though. They’ll provide a bus, but make you pay for it since you don’t qualify for transportation.
I went to kindergarten at age 4, and walked 3/4 of a mile to get there. (In Minnesota, where the weather is tougher than Florida!)
I had no great problem walking that distance. In fact, on the way home, I often had the energy to walk an extra 1/4 mile up the neighbors driveway with their kids, so we could play in their grove or elsewhere.
Okay guys and gals…
Many folks seem to be saying walking or getting your kids a measley 2 miles to school is no big deal…and it is presumably done to save money.
Lets do this. Set up “collection points” throughout the school district, the bus will ONLY pick up kids at those points. Lay out a route that minimizes the number of points/driving distance/time for the bus.
As long as no kid is farther than say the two miles, we are good as gold right?
Heck no. There would be parental riots at school board meetings IMHO.
They screw over/inconvience/discriminate againts a small percentage of the parents/students to save a little money they can get away with it. Do it to most of em to save alot ? I doubt it.
