My kids' school is RIDICULOUS

GTOgirl1969
GTOgirl1969 Posts: 2,527 Member
edited October 1 in Chit-Chat
After all the extra fees we have to pay this year, they cut busing for students who live 2 miles or less from school. I have to drop them off and pick them up...and since so many other parents have to do the same thing, traffic is out of control. For the last two days, I've sat in the pickup line for over an hour..not getting home until 4:30 when they get out at 3:20...and we live TWO BLOCKS AWAY!

I called the school and asked if I could walk up and get them in the afternoons at least, and the lady I talked to was very rude and condescending. I told her that I couldn't afford to waste gas sitting in line for an hour, and that I'd get there and home faster if I walked, and she said "Yeah, you and 300 other parents" and hung up. :noway: :explode:

I'm not trying to go all political here, but I don't see how this country has money for other, less necessary things, but can't afford to put kids on a bus to get to and from school ON TIME.
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Replies

  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    The school requires you to pick your kids up in a car?

    And this is not a new rule to most school districts. I walked two miles to school every day from kindergarten to fourth grade until we moved to a rural district.

    I also think it's ridiculous that a district would bus kids two blocks to school. What a waste.
  • NA_Willie
    NA_Willie Posts: 340 Member
    Blame the welfare queens eating their bonbons and driving their Caddys and their LV purses.
    BOOM!

    Mouthful of truth right there.
  • Heather75
    Heather75 Posts: 3,386 Member
    I don't understand why they won't let you walk.
  • vettle
    vettle Posts: 621 Member
    wow that's all kinds of backwards
  • lijparsons
    lijparsons Posts: 258
    I don't understand why you can't walk to school to get them? The school can't FORCE you to do ANYTHING! You'd think they would be promoting walking as a healthy option for the kids to get exercise. Ours does.
  • bhb301
    bhb301 Posts: 338 Member
    Our school system never buses if you leave that close. Try walking what are they going to do, say no. But Honestly, you should be happy that you have the ability to get your kids from school. I work full time and always have, so my daughter goes to before and after school care.So look on the positiive
  • Ashley_Panda
    Ashley_Panda Posts: 1,404 Member
    I'd walk up and do it any way. Bring proof that you are their parent or whatever and just walk up and get them.
  • Run4UrHealth
    Run4UrHealth Posts: 348 Member
    After all the extra fees we have to pay this year, they cut busing for students who live 2 miles or less from school. I have to drop them off and pick them up...and since so many other parents have to do the same thing, traffic is out of control. For the last two days, I've sat in the pickup line for over an hour..not getting home until 4:30 when they get out at 3:20...and we live TWO BLOCKS AWAY!

    I called the school and asked if I could walk up and get them in the afternoons at least, and the lady I talked to was very rude and condescending. I told her that I couldn't afford to waste gas sitting in line for an hour, and that I'd get there and home faster if I walked, and she said "Yeah, you and 300 other parents" and hung up. :noway: :explode:

    I'm not trying to go all political here, but I don't see how this country has money for other, less necessary things, but can't afford to put kids on a bus to get to and from school ON TIME.

    My child is in a magnet school and we live less than 2 miles from a school though it is not his school. In order for him to ride a bus I have to drop him off at his zoned school and wait for the magnet school bus to pick up the magnet students there. I do no let him ride the bus because I want to see my kid walk into the school or come out of the school (especially being transferred between schools). We have the option of either waiting in the line for drop off and pick up or parking and getting out and getting them. That is crazy you cannot walk to get them!
  • suzikelley
    suzikelley Posts: 210 Member
    Okay... what about the people who don't have a car?? I'd say screw it, and walk the 2 blocks to pick up your kids!
  • _beachgirl_
    _beachgirl_ Posts: 3,865 Member
    Our distrcit did away with walkers at the Elementary Level several years ago.

    I've worked in my school district for almost 12 years now and I have never been rude to a parent like that. I would call someone else, complain about her and the traffic.

    They cannot stop you from walking to get your kids!

    Get involved in the issue if you feel strongly about it, go to budget meetings, get research from surrounding towns as to their walking policies for comparison, review the budget which is public and offer alternatives to cutting spending.

    Good luck!
  • bachooka
    bachooka Posts: 719 Member
    Wow I wonder why there is a child hood obesity epidemic when childrens options are be bussed two blocks, or get driven two blocks... I walked a kilometer to school when I was a kid, through a forest... and I never had any harm done, and there weren't really fat kids back then either.

    Ha. I totally sounded like an old person! lol.
  • amymeenieminymo
    amymeenieminymo Posts: 2,394 Member
    I'm confused, why do you have to sit in line for an hour? Once your kids get in the car, can't you pull out? Any chance you could have them meet you around the corner or something? And how would they know if you walk up to pick up your kids, I don't see why that would be a problem.
  • bjhadden
    bjhadden Posts: 120
    Every school I know of let's kids walk. You just have to sign them up as walkers with the office. Both schools that my son attended in Colorado he was a walker. We live too far away here, or he would be a walker. I still went with him to and from. Contact the school district if the school won't work with you.
  • bmw4deb
    bmw4deb Posts: 1,324 Member
    I would walk anyway, what are they gonna do ???? keep your kids !!
  • Unknown
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  • SimplyDeLish
    SimplyDeLish Posts: 539
    Do it! Walk to school and get them. Be the example to the other parents - and their kids. It's not only healthy for the body but for the environment.
  • trilikeagirl
    trilikeagirl Posts: 218
    Walking my kids to school and then biking to work is my most favorite part of the day. Nice chance to bond, and my life has never been so stress free since I stopped driving everywhere.
  • bjhadden
    bjhadden Posts: 120
    Okay... what about the people who don't have a car?? I'd say screw it, and walk the 2 blocks to pick up your kids!
    I agree! They are not going to NOT let you have your kids just because you are not in a car.
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,021 Member
    Okay... what about the people who don't have a car?? I'd say screw it, and walk the 2 blocks to pick up your kids!

    This was my first thought, as well. Not every parent owns a car. Not every parent even knows how to drive. That might possibly be why some kids are riding the bus in the first place. So if they can't ride the bus or walk to school, what do those people do?
  • HappyathomeMN
    HappyathomeMN Posts: 498 Member
    I'd walk up and do it any way. Bring proof that you are their parent or whatever and just walk up and get them.

    Yep!!

    What are they going to do? Refuse to release your child? What happens when the car is out of comission?
  • u2fergus
    u2fergus Posts: 422 Member
    They can't tell you you're not allowed to pick up your kids by walking to get them. They're YOUR kids. What if you didn't have a car at all? I didn't realize having a family car was a prerequisite of attending public school... oh, wait... it's NOT. Just go get your kids on foot and walk home with them. We did that every day when I went to school. If they want to sue you over it (which they won't), you would win anyway. As for the secretary, it's a bummer she was rude, but you have to put yourself in her position... they're getting funds cut constantly and everybody gets mad at them, like it's their fault, when in reality, they're feeling it a lot more keenly even than you are. It's just a crappy situation all around, I'm afraid, and not likely to get better anytime soon.
  • Blufairae
    Blufairae Posts: 22 Member
    I worked at an elementary school last year (middle school for this year), parents were allowed to walk and pick up their kids. In fact most parents that drove parked a few blocks away as the street is so narrow in front of the school and walked up to get their kids. There is no reason that I can see why you can't walk to two blocks to pick up your kids. The person you talked to was extremely rude however and you should notify the principal.
  • GTOgirl1969
    GTOgirl1969 Posts: 2,527 Member
    I asked why I couldn't walk and they said that they locked all the entrances/exits besides the front one to the car loop (for security reasons). Plus, the woman I talked to said that there was no way they could prove that I wasn't just parking on a side street and slipping in and circumventing the car pick-up line.
  • arsenal45
    arsenal45 Posts: 211 Member
    I still get steamed when I think about how my kids' school offers mozzerella sticks for a lunch entree. And the required vegetable side dish? You guessed it... a cup of marinara dipping sauce. Sheesh.
  • adrian_indy
    adrian_indy Posts: 1,444 Member
    My kids are only 3 and 1, so I don't have to deal with this yet, but in Franklin County, Indiana, since the schools are in the red and no one for the last few years would vote to raise their taxes and my guess is the schools spent money on BS, the whole county has started charging $50 a week per child for bus services. Heck of a jump. Just on a the school near me, traffic is a nightmare since so many are driving now to pick up their children.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    Blame the welfare queens eating their bonbons and driving their Caddys and their LV purses.
    How about blame the rich SOB's who KNOWINGLY robbed the American tax payers? And not one has gone to jail or been put on trial. People like to blame the poor and unfortunate who may cost a few million, but to blame the rich SOB's who made BILLIONS of scams..............................
  • daniface
    daniface Posts: 338 Member
    why can't your kids walk back and forth from school by themselves if you are only 2 blocks away? not sure what kind of area you live in but thats not very far..
  • peteb79
    peteb79 Posts: 386
    They might be able to say no to you, but surely they can not say no to all parents that walk.. get a bunch of parents together ...
  • emccand
    emccand Posts: 195 Member
    Wow that is stupid! I would just say screw it and walk to pick them up, it will be good for you and them and YOU are the parent, if they have a problem with you walking your own children home from school screw them call and ream the principal and if they still complain call the local media and make a huge stink of it. Its a sad day when you cant even walk your children home from school I mean come on America!
  • jen_marie_1976
    jen_marie_1976 Posts: 41
    Our schools do the same thing with the buses. and i did have to drop off and pick them up when i lived within 5 miles of the school. if you dont want to sit in the car pick up that long, dont get there so early...and for walking up to get the kids, its a saftey issue....i understand that i cant walk up and get my kids. The school wants to make sure the kids are going home with who there supposed to...theres to much going on when school gets out to watch every child go to the right people. i am very poor and i dont have gas to do it either.and the welfare thing, i understand that part to.. but there are people that do get state help and deserve it. and there are people that dont deserve it.
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