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School system tweaking bus routes

Posted by
Walter Geiger
in Top Stories
Sunday, August 8. 2010
Comments (25)
At the July 20 board of education meeting, assistant superintendent for support services Dr. Terry Mermann described several money-saving changes in the transportation department that will go into effect this year.

“Transportation needed a lot of work,” said Dr. Mermann. “It went without a full time supervisor too long.”

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#1 Anonymous on 08/08/10 at 09:10 AM
i have a small child ido hope my child doesnot have to go down the road to get on the bus.
#2 Anonymous on 08/08/10 at 12:13 PM
I agree. Wow. More firefighters needed. Not three are paid. If one firefighter is on scene no. Help where help is needed??? More paid firefighters needed. How about? Nine paid firefighters on duty 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Wayne and Jay approves it.
#3 Anonymous on 08/08/10 at 01:40 PM
It sounds like common sense is being used. Will this be allowed in B'ville?
#4 Anonymous on 08/08/10 at 01:41 PM
Is Dr. Mermann related to any Mermaids
#5 Anonymous on 08/08/10 at 02:28 PM
no he is not. but he is related to the tuna's from down the road
#6 Anonymous on 08/08/10 at 04:43 PM
Yes- on his mother's side. They were all mermaids.
#7 Taxpayer on 08/08/10 at 06:36 PM
I see children being let off of school buses downtown,at the old elementary school on Forsyth rd.and other place that are not their homes. How do they justify it when the law says one and half mile from their home to their school.
#8 hates school on 08/08/10 at 06:42 PM
now this is just plain out stupid!
#9 Anonymous on 08/08/10 at 10:50 PM
''How do they justify it when the law says one and half mile from their home to their school.''

ask them and see what they say
#10 anon on 08/09/10 at 04:52 AM
The kids are not being picked up until well after the staff at all the schools leave. Twice last week my kids didn't leave the school until well after 4. Office staff leaves @ 4, so if they bus deceides not to run that last load, how are the kids going to call home for a ride. How is the bus shop manager going to know, he doesn't answer his phone after 4:30 pm either.
#11 It's Me on 08/09/10 at 05:56 AM
I am glad that they are finally doing something about the unnecessary stops and making it more organized. Thank you Dr Merman.

As for the afterschool program and daycare drop offs ... just what 'law' are you looking at? This is a bulk drop off at a safe location for those children. You seriously need to grow up some.
#12 retired bus driver on 08/09/10 at 06:19 AM
Lamar Co.'s bus routs need a lot of tweaking, it also needs a Transportation director, one who has actually driven a bus and NOT Bob Wright or G. Forsyth who is a mechanic !
There will never be another Hollis Tessemer, he always got the job done on time and right.
And why not let the preschoolers ride regular buses, sit them up front and leave them there. No big deal and no need for extra buses, save the county some money.
They do need another mechanic why not give the job to
Bob Wright he knows it all any way........LOL
#13 Anonymous on 08/09/10 at 07:25 AM
That would be the activity center. Please before you make a comment get your information correct, so you will not sound ignorant.Thank you
#14 Anonymous on 08/09/10 at 08:58 AM
isn't it illegal for school employees to leave kids at school alone to be picked up? You could file a formal complaint on that one.

Some don't leave till after 4 but they get picked up between 6-7am???
#15 school mom on 08/09/10 at 10:39 AM
Just because the staff has hours of 7am - 4pm, doesn't mean they all leave at 4pm and leave the kids at the school by themselves. Get a grip!! Most teachers work until 4:30 or 5:00 - and some even later than that. The teachers who have bus duty are there to make sure the buses arrive and pick up the children - I think they would notice if the buses didn't show up...don't you?? Why would the drivers just "decide not to run their last load"? They wouldn't have a job the next day if that happened...and right now jobs are hard to come by. There is also an after-school program (at the primary and elementary schools at least) in which they have access to phones/parents' numbers, etc. They are there until 6pm or so.

And yes, some kids get picked up around 6-6:30 am and don't get home til 4:30-5pm. They are usually the kids who live at the edge of the county and that's just the way the route runs....always has and always will.
#16 Anonymous on 08/09/10 at 11:53 AM
SUPER Mermann
#17 worried parent on 08/10/10 at 12:30 AM
it bothers me than my elementary school kids are being left at school just to run high school kids home first.the idea was to save money by dropping routes but if you are having to make 2 trips to a school then your not saving anything. all this is doing is cause over crowded buses and children having to wait longer to get home. thats not fair to our children all because the county can manage its money. stop remodeling main street every six months and new stadiums then this county might just get out of debt.i hope not to offend anyone but something has to give our kids need to come first this time not the budget
#18 Anonymous on 08/10/10 at 06:56 AM
This has nothing to do with tweaking bus routes, but is about buses and th police this morning. When takking my kids to school this morning I saw a bus stopped and police cars and what looked like smoke. Not sure what was going on but my hat goes off to Joe Simms for getting the kids off the bus quickly and efficently. He and the driver did a great job and the kids did not appear to be in fear of anything. So good job to all that dealt with that issue this morning.
#19 former student on 08/11/10 at 01:40 PM
Well for a former Bus driver you must not have a very good memory or didn’t drive to long in Lamar County. When I was in school in the 80s and 90s Mr. Wright was one of my teachers and he ran the Science Club and was a Scoutmaster. Our club and our troop was very active and most of our trips as a cost cutting measure Mr. Wright would drive the school bus for our Field trips. I even remember the Bus number they gave him most of the time. It was the old bus # 3 which was still a stick shift. So you're point that he is not a bus drive is wrong, he has been one. Second routing bus routes is about logistics and management (which he well qualified even over qualified) not about turning a steering wheel, and opening a door. Have a nice day.
#20 Anonymous on 08/11/10 at 05:18 PM
Grandpa tell me bout the good ole days. We didn't have to four or five buses on the same route. Combine the routes by taking all children home that live on that route. Make the bigger kids sit on the back of the bus and have the little ones sit nearer the front. Yes the little ones need protection but where is the discipline that is needed at home to make them show respect for the bus driver and let the little ones alone.
#21 Concerned Parent of Primary Students on 08/11/10 at 06:59 PM
I am so glad that so many of you truely understand what actually goes on with younger children and as you say bigger kids. All I can say is thank you for not allowing all grade levels to ride on the same bus as our children. I could only imagine what would have happened to them if the children were older than the elementary. My children (primary school age) went through an ordeal dealing with elementary children who bullied, bruised, adjusted the waist on their pants, wrote profanity on their arm which you would not imagine, dictated to them where to sit and even attempted to prevent my child from getting off of the school bus. I can say one thing for sure, that when I addressed the issues with the Administrative Staff at the Primary, they were their to assist and worked thru the problems. I simply don't understand why you would be expected to have your child be picked up in front of your home. We have 13 children that are picked up at one bus stop and yes those of us who bring our children to the bus stop, stay and make sure our children get on the bus safe and sound. We don't have the comfort of sending our child right out the door straight to the bus doors. Isn't our main goal to protect our children and make sure they are safely returned home. Yes their are problems but problems begin at home and children carry them back to school. For the retired bus driver who thinks it's no big deal and save the county money with his method of seating arrangements for the Preschoolers, I am so glad that you are retired and not our bus driver.
#22 How Many This year on 08/13/10 at 06:28 PM
How many drivers is Bob Wright going to run off this year. I know he ran off a couple last year and one had been driving a bus for many years. Bob Wright really isn't qualified to do this job. He can't deal with the people he has. There is to much petty garbage going on. Some drivers think they can do no wrong and are handed what they want while others are just thrown garbage. I have seen this with my own two eyes. There are a few drivers that shouldn't even be driving. I know of one who sneaks calls on her phone while driving. I can't wait for her to get caught.
#23 livedhereallmylife on 08/14/10 at 08:01 AM
You guys better be more concerned about the bus drivers speeding. I know one of them hit a dog last week and did not even break stride!! I have seen them speeding myself. Irresponsible driving while having children on board is inexcusable!
#24 Kat on 08/14/10 at 08:23 PM
When I was in school I saw my bus driver pull out in front of Tractor trailers. He hit several mail boxes and he even took out a stop sign while turning around one day and he had a first grader get off of the bus to try and move the sign he backed over. Did he ever call any of this in? Oh no!! When I said something about his awful driving he tried to blame it on my LITTLE SISTER he wouldn't say that I said anything. My sister said nothing. My parents complained and nothing happened. This was in the Early 90's. My bus driver shouldn't have been driving a car let alone a bus. As for how many animals he ran over I can't tell you. The man even tried to blame his hospital stay over the summer on me and my sister because I said soemthing to him about his driving. He tried to say his hospital stay was due to stress when it was actually a serious medical issue. This man couldn't see or hear for a hill of beans. If Mr. Hollis Tessmer had still been there this man wouldn't have had a job after the parents complained especially when he sent a child off of the bus to move a sign he ran over. Things are only going to get worse as long as Bob Wright is there. I know last year he ran off my Mother who had drove a bus for years.

Also as for the pre K children you need to do some looking. It is possible that their buses is part of a PRE K grant. I know of a couple of counties that transport pre K children on separate buses because of a special grant that can only be used for PRE K transportation.
#25 worried parent on 08/18/10 at 09:48 PM
something needs to be done with the bus system when my 8 yr old daughter comes home with a fat lip from a high school boy he hit her in the mouth and squeezed her bare legs against the seat from where she had a dress on when she tried to get off the bus and the only reason she was sitting with him is because she had no where else to sit. the driver of bus 04-12 does not mandate the younger kids to the front and older kids to the back. the kids have full range of the bus and this is wrong. how many more kids have to be bullied before something is done.
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