Posted 18 July 2008 - 10:57 PM
Good GAWD.
First... the good news.
I appreciated the route info that was posted for biking from our area to the school. Thank you so much. =) I wasn't aware of the parallel route on Folsom Blvd. If, at some point, biking is an option, that info will come in handy. It was refreshing to see a few posts such as this that that were actually helpful and free of hostile sermonizing, as another compassionate soul observed.
Now... the rest.
You people are incredible. I was trying to ascertain if anyone had received/seen anything explicit from the school or district about the lack of transportation, AND if anyone had any game plans they'd like to share. But Noooooo... that's not what I got ( with a couple of exceptions).
I am one MyFolsom poster some of you love to hate, and that's a-okay. I don't really give a frog's fat a$$ what you people think of me. It's incredibly disappointing, though, that MyFolsom.com is like this and that a select few of you work so hard to make it so. I can have fun with it, but sometimes it's really tiresome -- like now.
It's also disappointing that some of you seem to think that as a Folsom resident, voter and taxpayer, I should not expect that my community support the needs of its families and expecially of its students! If these buses aren't available to students to get to school, who is riding them? The elderly? Jr. College kids? People without cars going to work? Intel employees? How many of THEM actually ride the bus? That's a pretty narrow service goal and a very shortsighted profit objective.
And. for what it's worth, I do not think people should be driving their kids to school if the school is within walking distance (about a mile or mile and a half makes sense -- even two miles in residential areas).
And please. She's not going to ride her bike with a 30 pound backpack. Don't bother posting about what a great workout this would be. It wouldn't be safe in an environment where she may have to stop suddenly or turn abruptly to avoid a hazard.
Regarding the biking conditions in ARC. Great! I'm glad there are lots of bikers there. We don't live in ARC. We live NEAR it in a small development near Sundahl School. So, I'm not sure that's relevant. Maybe so... but maybe not.
FYI -- we had already planned for her to walk or take a city bus to Folsom Middle from Folsom High after school most of the time. But, like I said before Fridays, rainy days and meeting days are going to be a problem.
I am not expecting anyone to SUBSIDIZE us. I'm not looking for low cost or free rides. I am looking for resources that will help us address this transportation problem, and apparently that's not available on MyFolsom.com. Not a very supportive community on these boards. I am not sure why I thought I'd find other people or other parents in the same boat. Maybe I should have posted this on the parent board.
The issue is really about communication and the school district's treatment of the problem. It'll save us around $250 in fees we won't be paying to the district for an annual bus pass if she doesn't ride the school bus. So, there is SOME benefit here.
On the other hand, while I think it's irresponsible of the district to cut these services, I understand that something has to go in a tough budget year like this. I just thought some mention of the issue should be on the school and district web sites so parents can start making their arrangements as needed. Networking with other parents to form carpools would be so helpful. Aside from canvassing my neighborhood door-to-door, I wouldn't know who's got kids at FHS and who doesn't. I'm sure some of the kids in our area are homeschooled, some got to parochial school, and perhaps some are going to Vista. There's no way to tell.
As to the comment about gifted classes being cut, my understanding is that any reduction in GATE funds will not affect services provided in the classroom. Teachers will still be serving GATE students who need to be challenged daily. But, there probably isn't going to be money for those after school fun and learning classes that GATE funds have paid for in the past.
So, if anyone has any other practical ideas aside from saving my daughter from becoming a fat, overindulged brat (you're all SO well-meaning and all), I'd be happy to hear it.
Pari.
Pari
