LIVERMORE FALLS – The major complaint Monday night when parents met with school officials to discuss the one-run busing system was the time children are on the buses on their return trips home.
One mother said her kindergartner was on the bus 1 hours getting to their Maple Lane home in Livermore. “It wears her right out.” She now transports the child herself.
That amount of time on the bus is illegal, other parents said, since they had been told the allowable limit was 45 minutes.
There is no 45-minute law, Superintendent Terry Despres responded, and an hour on a bus in Maine is not unusual. But he agreed that the Maple Lane situation should be looked into. He and Transportation Supervisor David Brackett had been able to cut about 20 minutes on another run, he said.
“Road time is road time and we can’t do anything about that, but we might be able to work with loading times,” said Brackett, who noted that about 20 minutes is built into the schedule for loading.
All in all, single runs seem to be working, with discipline improved through the use of monitors and the help of high schoolers. “The high school kids have been phenomenal; good learning things are going on,” Despres said.
A father raised concerns that sometimes there are three or four in a seat, meaning one of the children could slide off a seat when the bus goes around a corner. Officials assured him the loads are under the limit, but that the situation would be looked into.
Brackett explained that, in a 78-passenger bus, the law allows for 95 percent capacity, or 74 students. His goal is to have 64 or fewer students, and generally the runs hold less than 60. He also said federal law allows 13 inches per person to sit, an unreasonable situation in today’s society in which children travel with backpacks and musical instruments.
When parents mentioned the foul language used on the buses, Despres explained that most of it comes from the grade-school youngsters. Other concerns were about cigarettes and marijuana, both of which will be investigated.
Despres asked parents to keep the schools informed. “It’s important for us to know.”
Financial complaints brought a reminder that the district had actually helped to lower the tax rate the last two years, but that Livermore had a revaluation that resulted in higher valuations for some.
“It wasn’t an easy decision to go single run; it is one way we’ve been able to save through using federal funds, and to keep as much money as possible going into the classroom,” Despres explained.
Savings will come through purchase of equipment, on fuel and on longer life of the buses.
Former Livermore Falls Selectman Clayton Putnam added that it is very important that the towns hold the line and not gobble up the school savings.
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