San Diego Community

I cannot believe that a state that claims to want cleaner air than the rest of the country would permit the assault on the environment that occurs twice a day at schools throughout California.  What kind of example are we setting for the next generation?  As adults, we are encouraged to carpool - even given special travel privileges for doing so.  All children should be provided with free bus transportation for the sake of our environment.

I think Beckee has a good point.  

We hadn't lived in SDCEstates but just about 3 years when the Ramona School Dist decided to save money and charge us for the bus @$1.00 each way per student. The community created a huge uproar and in large mass, attending the School board Meetings (with News teams from a couple of San Diego's Finest Local News). The school board afraid for their lives I think called ahead for the Police in case of a riot. Of course we all felt way back then that it was an unfair decision, and despite all that we lost that battle. We were given choices, to pay for the year, or each way each day, or on a monthly basis. My Son was in the 3rd or 4th grade at the time, and he was verbally singled out in front of all the kids entering the bus, because he didn't pay one day getting on the bus, nor did "He" pay in advance at the Districts Office. He came home incredibly upset about the entire incident. From then on he was tagged by the uppity kids as being poor. Although we live in the same area as these kids and in the same school, for a few months he had a difficult time, as did I trying to explain repeatedly that the other kids are no different, than we are, and to ignore their ignorant comments. You know the ole sticks n stones theme discussion. At that age the damage was done, by an adult paid District Employee. I ran across the letter I wrote to the Dist about the incident recently, and got angry all over again.  Back then I refused for the duration of that year to place him on the bus. I drove him coming and going everyday, after I had my work schedule changed to accommodate the schools time schedule. We muddled thru that situation back in the early 1990's as did the rest of the Community. We didn't like it, and all had to deal with it. We set up carpools and did what we could to help the working families get thru it and get organized. It all worked out in time.
As for Alpine, well you all can fight it to no avail as we did here in Ramona. Big Business always wins in these cases. California's in a dire financial problem, along with the entire USA. Alpine you will have to muddle thru it as well.