Saturday, January 21, 2006
School Bus Daze
I wrote this for a local paper in North Carolina and wanted to post it here, too:
Realtors tout schools as selling points for houses with ads like: “Lovely family home walking distance to top-rated school in county.” In fact, the schools near a house can be more important than essentials like square footage and “views.” This shows the priority in people’s minds of their children’s education. Sounds good, but…
Children in Wake County are currently undergoing the “school bus shuffle,” being reassigned to schools across town (or in another town) instead of the one a block or two away. So much for the extra tens of thousands their parents paid for that house in just the right school district.
Two factors seem to be driving the bus: 1) Balancing the number of students per school to prevent overcrowding in areas that experienced a growth boom (including Apex) and 2) Maintaining socioeconomic balance by ensuring that students in “affluent” neighborhoods mingle with those in “less fortunate” ones – a rather subjective standard (“less fortunate” might mean your kids still use last year’s iPod).
The first is an economic necessity brought on by people demanding that the government educate their children. The second is a high-sounding idea that shuffles children around like checkers on a board so people can pat themselves on the back and say, “Look at how fair-minded we are.”
Of course, there is a bright side to busing.
For the children:
- Conditioning for adulthood (commuting an hour or more daily to and from work).
- Preparing for a career in road design, studying the roads they travel – day after day after day.
- More time to listen to tunes downloaded on their iPods.
- Extra sleep time (they might wake up missing their lunch and a few other things, though).
For local business:
- Selling lots of colored markers, easel pads, and sticky notes to draw up new busing plans.
- Charging Mom and Dad’s credit cards for replacing all the stuff that went “missing” while their little “checker” – uh, child – slept on the bus.
How about stopping the checker game and recognizing that our kids have friendships and other associations (sports teams, etc.) that would be lost with a move, even at the elementary school level? Nah, too rational.
We could always turn the table on school board members by busing them all over the county – one year here, one year there. That should keep them on their toes, especially if they just bought a house to be near their office.
As for proposing a “school toll” on new residents, they already have one. When they buy a house, they pay next year’s property taxes at closing. Most of that goes to Wake County Schools, at least according to my latest bill.
Also, not everyone has children. Yet, if they own property, they have to pay property taxes. We are, in essence, forcing our childless neighbors to pay for our children’s education. Gee, how equitable.
Here’s a thought: Privatize schools. No more treating children like checkers in a game of “fair-mindedness.” They might even get an education.
No wonder homeschooling is becoming popular. Jump. Jump. King me!
Copyright © 2006 A.C. Cargill
