To the Editor:
I ask all of [the members of the Board of Aldermen and Board of Education] to seriously reconsider adding $80,000 back to the transportation budget to accommodate the potential walkers for next year.
Busing has been provided to children for many years and for it to be taken away to save money is a careless decision. To have a child walk 30-plus minutes to and from school in all types of inclement weather is irresponsible but yet, the Board of Education does not know how the traffic influx will be at the designated schools; they would rather take a wait and see approach.
As for registered sex offenders along the routes, I was told by my district representative that I should not live in fear and children today are sassy and resourceful. Seriously, we do not live in fear but we should know our surroundings and so should the children that will be walking those designated routes to school.
As for busing, The National Highway Traffic & Safety Administrations indicates that the school bus is the safest mode of transportation for getting students back and forth to school. Students are 20 times safer than if they ride with a parent or other adult. Simply put, school buses are built to reduce rider fatalities and injuries in a crash. Whether or not you're aware of the added safety the school bus provides, budget dollars saved by cutting school bus service is done at the expense of your children's safety.
So are we supposed to believe that 10 members of the Milford Board of Education know more about transportation safety than the NHTSA? I highly doubt that; safety is not a privilege, so please reinstate the funding for the children because they deserve the best and anything short of that is unacceptable.
Susan Feher