My mother is a school teacher. My sister is one, too. So is her husband and her mother-in-law and my step-father and my ex-step-father - well, you get the idea. And they all teach in this one school district, where I went to school and where all my siblings did the same...and, lo-and-behold, it made CNN! AND (this is the great part) I slept with someone mentioned in the article - way too damn cool - it's like a pathetic claim-to-fame *grin* So read and enjoy and commiserate.
nsafe school buses sidelined in California
JACKSON, California (AP) -- For half an hour every day, the narrow streets near Jackson Elementary School are clogged with parents waiting in cars for their children, while 30 empty school buses sit idly in a dirt lot next door.
Amador County Unified School District, faced with civil complaints and potential criminal charges, sidelined its bus fleet two weeks ago after unsatisfactory state safety inspections. More than 2,000 students must now find other ways to get around in this sprawling rural county east of Sacramento.
According to documents obtained by The Associated Press, the district is one of 167 organizations transporting children that have failed California Highway Patrol maintenance inspections since 2000.
Last month in Marysville, a school bus from a Sacramento church plunged into a lake, slightly injuring four children. The bus driver told police the brakes failed.
The bus, owned by the Slavic Missionary Church, was being used by the charter school next door. In March 2001, three of the four church buses failed safety inspections for defective brakes, California Highway Patrol officials said.
Church administrator Viktor Chernyetsky said the problems "were in the past," and that the buses and filing of maintenance records have greatly improved.
CHP officials investigating the crash said the church has been in good standing since its most recent inspection in May.
Safety checks
School bus inspections vary widely from state to state, said Bruce Little, chairman of the National Committee for School Bus Safety Inspections.
In California, buses need annual certification from the highway patrol. Certificates can be withheld for problems including broken windows, faulty brakes and poor maintenance records, said Greg Bragg, manager of the CHP's motor carrier program.
After Amador County's buses failed or barely passed three safety inspections in a row, the patrol filed a complaint with the district attorney citing more than 300 alleged violations -- including broken glass, diesel leaks and suspension problems.
Other district officials either declined comment or failed to return phone calls from The Associated Press.
Safety budget
Amador County District Attorney Todd Riebe recently announced he would file a civil action seeking to rebuild the district's bus system with state and county oversight. He has not ruled out criminal charges.
Kevin Gordon, executive director of the California Association of School Business Officials, said many districts are struggling to maintain bus fleets on a shrinking budget.
Since 2001, the state school transportation budget has dropped from $489.7 million to $471.6 million. During the next fiscal year, it's set to be cut by another $4.3 million.
Money for bus service in Amador County may have to come from other programs, said Jackson Elementary principal David Schlemmer.
"It's really hard on our family and students," he said. "This is a large, rural county, and we've had some parents pull their kids out of school and home school them because they can't make the commute."
― I'm Passing Open Windows (Ms Laura), Thursday, 20 February 2003 07:21 (twenty-two years ago)