As a mother of three children enrolled in Cranston Public Schools, I have always relied on the district’s transportation services to ensure my children arrive at school and return home safely each day. For more than 14 years, the same trusted bus driver has been a part of our lives, providing a sense of consistency and great peace of mind. She greets all of the students by name, is familiar with all of the families on her route, she recognizes who is home by the cars in the driveway, and she is an active and integral member of our community.

This driver maintains a well-managed, safe environment on her bus while having the trust and respect of all of the students. Parents are reassured knowing she has been a Cranston bus driver for well over 20 years. Her efficiency, kindness, and dedication to student safety have earned our everlasting appreciation.

Disrupting the stability, commitment, and trust that our community has built with these drivers undermines the security of our children. For years, school budgets have been level-funded or reduced, and we have already lost valuable services that impact hardworking taxpayers.Our children—our future—deserve the highest level of safety and security during transportation. This is not an area where corners should be cut!

Recently, there has been a proposal to privatize our school district's bus system. This change threatens to uproot the stability and familiarity that our children have grown accustomed to. It puts at risk the personal attention and care that our current bus drivers provide—qualities that are often lost with privatization.

Privatizing the bus system could lead to higher costs, less oversight, and the loss of well-established relationships between drivers, students, and families. Privatized systems often focus on profit rather than the welfare and safety of our children, potentially leading to reduced service quality and reliability. According to a report by the Economic Policy Institute, privatization can undermine the accountability and transparency that publicly-run systems traditionally maintain.

Moreover, studies have shown that privatized transportation can result in lower wages and benefits for drivers, which can lead to higher turnover rates. This could mean that our children might have to adjust to different drivers frequently, disrupting their routine and impacting their sense of security.

We must protect the level of service and safety that our current publicly-run system guarantees. Our children's safety should not be compromised for financial gains. The personal connections, the stability, and the trust built over the years are invaluable.

We urge the Cranston School District to keep our transportation services public and ensure the continued safety and consistency for our children. Please join me in signing this petition to stop the privatization of our school district's bus system. Together, we can preserve a system that works and provides the care and assurance our community relies on every day.