So, another day of coming home only to find what is 2 weeks late, still isn't in our mailbox. I?m not talking about a welfare check or for that matter anything that will put money in our pocket. In fact, the only money riding on what were waiting for is how much more will be wasted by the city for what a seemingly mindless administration can justify even in times of financial crisis.
Story after story has been reported on. The dealings behind closed doors, the payouts and bribes, and the suffering of those who are expected to take care of it. The latest in the scandal involving the mayor with no accountability and seemingly no conscience is the sudden rearrangement of school children.
My daughter is 9. She has attended the same school since kindergarten. We received a notice last year that the clusters were changing, and we would need to pick from a list of schools provided. It wasn't a big issue. We had moved since she started that school, and frankly, 3 of the other schools were in fact closer to us. We had tried to keep her with the same group of friends, and since she was in the advanced program, it seemed less than prudent to change up the conditions under which she was flourishing.
Well, we had not gotten the confirmation of her transfer as the end of last year drew near, so we called. There was no record of her at any of the three schools we had chosen for her to transfer. We called the school board, and found out that in their infinite wisdom, they had transferred her all the way to the west end.
At issue here is not color, nor money. It is the fact that we have had to take steps for her after school care because both her mother and I work. We have a neighbor who meets her at the bus on most days, and her 19 year old sister who will pick her up at school on other days when she is available. The problem comes on the days when she has to be picked up, we can't ask people to drive 20 miles in rush hour traffic as a "favor'.
We went to the school board, and filled out the proper notarized paperwork, and were told it would take 15 working days. It's now been a month, and several news stories about how many people are upset by this ridiculous subversion of the law striking down busing.
We did get a letter reiterating that our daughter would not be returning to her previous school, as even though she was there from the earliest of the beginning, she wouldn't be "grandfathered" in. we took this to mean that we weren't politically connected enough to raise hell over our kids being shipped cross county to justify the whim of some pinhead who didn't like that they couldn't "bus" children anymore.
The relevant issue is, if this city can't afford people to work their jobs, if they are demanding that people take furlough days or face layoffs, then where does the money come from to pay for fuel for the busses? Where does the money come from to pay the drivers for the near hour long trip twice daily for children that when it is completely unnecessary in the first place?
I guess the lesson learned, or rather the solution to the furloughed workers, learn to drive a school bus, apparently there is no shortage of workload for them!