| By Dianne Weaver
After years with the legislature not stopping wholesale school consolidation or failing to pass a bill preventing future long bus rides, another effort is on the board in 2008.
This time it is HB 4406, sponsored by Challenge WV.
Thousands of West Virginia school children ride buses exceeding the state's own guidelines for being on a school bus, but thousands more drastically exceed the guidelines, placing children as young as three and four on rides of one-and-a-half to two hours one way.
"The State Department of Education fudges the numbers and minimizes the problems," says Challenge WV coordinator Thomas Ramey.
The recommended bus travel time guidelines include 30 minutes for elementary school students, 45 minutes for middle, intermediate and junior high school students and 60 minutes for high school students.
The latest bill would prohibit creation of new bus routes for students in Grades Pre-K through 5 which exceed the elementary limit by more than 15 minutes unless a county board would adopt a motion to request "written permission" from the state Board of Education.
If the county board receives this approval, the bus route "limit" could not exceed 60 minutes.
In terms of the those provisions, the WVBE is required to provide technical assistance to county boards to create bus routes consistent with recommended time durations.
"Almost every time we've pushed a bill to limit long bus rides, state education officials have told legislators the bill would cost millions of dollars," said Ramey, "In fact, it costs nothing, and is not retroactive."
Under terms of the bill, county boards must submit to the School Building Authority plans to be "consistent with sound education policy and budget constraints."
Additionally the bill would require that county board's must include updated estimates of associated bus transportation costs when projects include the closure, consolidation or construction of a school.
After July 1, 2008 the SBA would be prohibited from approving a county board project that includes closure, consolidation or construction of facilities which exceed state Board of Education's guidelines more than 15 minutes unless the WVBE has given written permission.
SPEAKING OUT
There are ten House sponsors, including lead sponsor Del. Joe DeLong, D-Hancock, House majority leader.
Del. Stan Shaver (D-Preston), another of the bill sponsors says the intent of the proposed legislation is to "keep our small local schools within a reasonable time-frame distance."
Shaver said he has always had concerns about the length of bus rides, but became more involved after attending a Challenge conference last year.
"I was on a panel, with Delegate DeLong and others, during that conference," said Shaver. "It became even clearer to me that long bus rides are counterproductive in our school systems. Delegate DeLong pledged at that conference that he would introduce legislation and I am happy to join him in co-sponsoring it."
"The days of full-scale consolidation are about over," Shaver said. "And it couldn't come too soon," indicating that thousands of WV children will remain on long, expensive bus rides.
West Virginia has been on the consolidation bandwagon for years, when most of America has returned to community-based schools.
Lorelei Scarbro, a Raleigh County Challenge WV fellow, echoed Shaver's sentiments, saying "We're trying to protect any child in West Virginia from being placed on long, extreme bus rides."
"The bill basically forces local school systems to consider the length of bus runs when they consider consolidation in the future," said Jana Freeman, a Challenge WV fellow from Preston County.
Several delegates, particularly Del. Woody Ireland, R-Ritchie, said the real issue in long bus rides was not time but "distance" and that Challenge WV should concentrate on the latter.
Ireland said he often is passed by school buses trying to get students to school.
Del. Gerald Crosier, D-Monroe, brought up the same issue, saying "You are going to make the bus drivers speed it up."
"The bill doesn't really solve the long bus ride problem, but it is a good first step," said Ramey.
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