Part 2:

Save our school buses in Howard County!

Starting in August, thousands of children will be losing their school bus service. Many children who are not cut from service will walk significantly further distances to their school bus stops. Since school bus cuts were announced at the end of March, hundreds of residents have voiced their concerns regarding child safety. Children with access to the fewest resources will be disproportionately harmed by school bus loss.

We petition the Howard County Board of Education to at least temporarily suspend policy 5200 changes for a year to allow for the following: 

1) All safety concerns shall be assessed and addressed. All new non-transportation areas shall be physically assessed in person to insure that children without advocates do not get left behind in safety assessments. Safety concerns shall be assessed including those that have not been previously considered such as having children walk on isolated, wooded paths for extended distances.  

2) Given that riding the school bus is the safest form of transportation for children to get to and from school, any cuts to school bus service will decrease overall child safety in Howard County. The Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) shall therefore convene a committee with broad representation of community stakeholders to brainstorm and assess alternative solutions that do not require any school bus service cuts from those of the 2022-23 school year. Once the committee has convened, a public hearing shall be held to better consider all solutions available. 

A public hearing was never held prior to policy changes that cut school bus service to thousands of children in Howard County. Now that hundreds of citizens have brought forward safety concerns, the current board can and should modify current policy to prevent child harm.