May 4, 2005

Dear Ms. Gault, Ms. Crow, Ms. Hollingsworth, Ms. Roche, Mr. Cleveland, Mr. Pinson, Ms. Abner, Mr. Pruitt and Mr. Puetz,

I am terribly disappointed in the Board of Education's decision to drastically change the start and end times of school without regard for the families this decision affects.

First I would like to say that if certain school buses are unable to get the children to school on time, then that needs to be addressed per situation, not by making secretive decisions that affect every student, teacher, administrator, bus driver and family in Forsyth County.

We already have serious traffic issues in the south side of the county because many parents drive due to the early bus schedule. The decision to start elementary school buses at 6:30am for a 7:40am start time is guaranteed to increase the number of parents driving their children to school, thus making James Burgess a parking lot, further impacting the traffic problem on 141, Westminster Lane and Old Atlanta Road. This will not only affect families with students, but will affect every person who travels on those roads between 6:30am and 9:00am (the start time for middle school). These commuters will then have the opportunity to share the roads with the afternoon buses, since they will not finish dropping off kids until 5:15pm.

Middle school children getting home at 5:15 in the evening? Doesn’t that sound absurd? Once the time changes, these kids will be getting home around dusk. When do they get to play outside and be kids? It is a known fact that children and adults alike need exposure to the sun to keep them functioning at their fullest.

I’m also concerned about the increase rate of absence due to doctor, dentist and orthodontist appointments. It is often times possible to get a 4:00 or 4:30 apointment, but that will no longer be an option with middle school staying in session until 4:15.

I must respond to the fact that this decision was made after contracts were signed. One of the benefits to teaching is getting out early, missing rush hour traffic and having more time to spend time with your family. With middle school teachers getting out at 4:30, they will be in the thick of traffic – thus creating even more congestion on Forsyth County roads.

One of the benefits to being a bus driver is it doesn’t take up your entire day – with this new schedule though, it will consume much of their morning and afternoon – in the heat of traffic.

"These changes are designed to benefit FCS as a whole and support student learning. They are not designed to accommodate extra curricular activities nor meet the need of every family/individual in Forsyth County."

That is a direct quote from the FCS website. If these changes were designed to benefit Forsyth County schools as a whole and support student learning, then shouldn’t the administrators, teachers, bus drivers and parents have been allowed the opportunity to express their concerns regarding these changes? If truly designed to benefit our children, then the board wouldn’t have felt the need to make this decision covertly and then post such a defensive paragraph regarding said decision.

Do not simply tell us that “these changes are not designed to accommodate extra curricular activities”. Tell us how you plan on accommodating the extra curricular activities that are such a vital part of making our schools successful and giving the students social and academic goals to work toward.

I am not a working parent, but I do not see how this schedule is physically possible for working parents. The benefits presented on the website of this three tiered transportation plan don’t even come close to compensating for the stress this will create within almost every family unit.

I am disgusted by the amount of effort that went into educating the public about the bond referendum that was voted on in March, only to be duped by the same Board of Education just a month later. The irony of your timing is amazing. Announcing such a drastic plan after the vote and after the board elected Paula Gault to stay in office for two more years is simply deceitful.

Paula Gault and our board of education do not deserve to be re-elected after this unethical stunt. You need to find the money in your budget for the buses and bus drivers needed to accommodate our growing community. The power point presentation for this three-tiered transportation schedule sure will make the county look good on paper – but at the expense of the entire community – most importantly, the children you are supposed to be representing. This was an incredibly selfish decision. What a disappointment.

Sincerely,

Michelle Webster,