Preston County Board of Education has decided to change the the busing schedules in Preston County. There plan is to eliminate the second bus run in the evening. In order to accommodate their plan schools in the county will have to start earlier and end later.
Preston County's Superintendent of Schools Dr. Larry Parsons was quoted in the Dominion Post saying that this proposed plan for the 2012-13 school year has "more pluses than minuses''. That is the way he sees it, but many parents have voiced concerns and disagree with the proposed new scheduling.
PARENTAL CONCERNS UNDER THE NEW SCHEDULE...
~Children will be gone from their homes for longer than many parents who work full time jobs...some as many as 10 hours per day (instructional day plus bus time).
~Some children will be leaving for school on the bus by 6am...not returning until nearly 5pm.
~Children's instructional day will be as much as 8 hours in some of the schools in Preston County.
~Some children will be on bus rides lasting more than one hour (Elementary level students are to be on the bus a maximum of 30 minutes; per Mr. Bill Helmick, person in charge of transportation for Preston County Schools.)
~There will be little time after school for children to do homework, extra curricular activities, church involvement, family time, free time, BEING A KID!
~10 hours at school + 10 hours for sleeping...4 hours left each day for all of the childhood 'extras'...
~Elementary level students eat lunch quite early...some as early as 10:30am. This year, students arriving home by 3pm were famished when they got off the bus...what happens next year if they are kept an hour and a half extra?!
~The extra hours in school may cause behavioral issues, lower grades, etc.
