PDE Column, 22nd February 2010 – School Bus Cuts

“How many adults would be prepared to walk 2.9m to work and home again carrying heavy bags especially in the dreadful weather conditions we endure? The route suggested for our children to walk to school is far from safe. I hope whoever had this not so bright idea is willing to take responsibility for the trauma that they have caused and for the resulting incidents that are bound to happen should this go ahead.”
So wrote Joyce, a parent on my online petition about bus cuts.

Andrea another local mum wrote
“My child is expected to walk to 2.5 miles to school – St Benedict’s High School – and again 2.5 miles home, which equates to 25 miles a week. I’ve walked the “safe route” (in my opinion it’s not safe for an 11 yr old) it took me over 1 hour so a child of 11 with a heavy bag full of book, a violin and lunch box and a change of clothes for the Scottish winter will be lucky if he can do it in, 1.5 hrs, which will add probably more than 15 hours on to his school week. When exactly is my child expected to do homework without being completely exhausted?”

These are just two of the many pleas by parents opposed to the proposed school bus cuts.  The buses may be a council matter but the bus cuts are the dominant issue at my surgeries. Angry parents are demanding all elected representatives do what they can to encourage a rethink.

So surely the time has come for council bosses and SNP/Liberal Democrat Councillors to think again? To be fair when they have got things wrong in the past they have been willing to think again.

This time last year the same council bosses and councillors proposed axing weekly lessons for pupils learning to play a musical instrument.

In response parents, pupils and music teachers successfully argued that children needed a weekly instrument lesson in order to progress.  The campaign was hard-fought attracting national media interest.  A huge petition, lobbying of councillors surgeries and delegations to council meetings went into getting the decision reversed.  Labour councillors called an emergency council meeting to try to get the necessary U-turn. Somewhat later, when the official U-turn came, it attracted prominent coverage in the PDE.

One year on we are back in the same place. If anything the outrage about the cutting of buses is ever greater. Many parents feel their child’s safety is at stake and they want a U-turn.

We had one last year on instrument lessons and we need one now on the buses issue.

And if SNP/Liberal Councillors are worried about finding £410,000pa required to keep the buses running they could start with agreeing a 5% pay cut for all top officials. It would be a small but important statement about Council priorities. Especially after the same councillors agreed an eye-watering 22% pay rise over the last 2 years for every head of service post.  Then there is the £2m in uncollected council tax and over £1m in uncollected rates this year – a small fraction of which could help keep the buses running.

So come on Cotton Street – do the right thing and think again.