Article Contributed on: 7/25/2009 6:57:19 PM
We ask your assistance with the proposed and now finalized DCSD school bus route cuts.
Several of the cuts they made, specifically Routes 250/260/263, are now "magnet stops". These stops are currently more than 3/4 mile away, down steep grades, across a 45 MPH uncontrolled street, walking along paths that are not controlled from bad weather, no snow removal, etc. I'm sure you can appreciate the weather conditions in Colorado. For the elementary school children, a bus has been provided. The Middle Schoolers (often 12 and 13 yr olds) are not subjected to the same level of safety they believe an 11 yr old should be).
I have mounds of documentation and I can assure you the superintendent, Jim Christensen, will know of these issues. I sent emails every day, had neighbors send in messages, attended the board meetings, and still NOTHING!
This is not safe for my new 7th grader and 12 yr old - who by the way, is barely 60 lbs and 50" tall - more the size of a 4th or 5th grader. As a working parent, I will not be able to feel my child is safe going this far, in adverse conditions, in the morning at 7:10 am - the current pick up time, which includes having to leave our house no later than 6:40 am in the morning - dark once daylight savings hits!
Please help me in resolving these issues. It will take 1 abduction, 1 slip and fall, 1 child getting hit by a car to result in the school board understanding it is not worth the dollars they think they are saving. They are penalizing the hard-working, tax payers of colorado. We are the voters! Help us fight this.
Please send emails to Superintendent Jim Christensen (jim.christensen@dcsdk12.org) and Governor Bill Ritter. This affects thousands of students and parents who selected and/or built homes around the schools and routes.