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Impending cuts to LAUSD busing cause parental and political outcry
A student on his way to school walks past a Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) school bus.
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Impending cuts to LAUSD busing cause parental and political outcry
Impending cuts to LAUSD busing cause parental and political outcry
State funding cuts announced Tuesday would eliminate L.A. Unified’s busing budget for the rest of the school year. That is causing consternation among parents.
L.A. Unified buses about 52,000 students every school day, including Manuel Urrutia’s 12th grade daughter, who takes the bus from Van Nuys to the magnet program at Hamilton High School near Culver City.
The bus picks her up at 6:30, arrives sometime before 7:30 at her school and then the bus leaves at 4:30 and arrives at her stop at 5:30 or so. So it’s almost an hour each way.
Magnet students make up the majority of students taking L.A. Unified buses; the next largest group is special education students. Urrutia said that’s tens of thousands of headaches if L.A. Unified is forced to cut busing.
"It’s going to be causing many problems," said the father. "And it’s going to increase traffic on the street because people will now have to drive their kids... if they can.
Some parents who’ve filled out magnet school applications said they will opt out if busing is not available.
One parent said that "transportation [...] is more than just a ride to school. It’s access to what schools have to offer our kids, especially for our special needs, our low income, and our rural kids."
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L.A. Unified doesn’t want to find out how bad it could get. The district filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Governor’s office and state Department of Education to block the transportation cuts. The district argues that it would be in violation of a federal desegregation order if it eliminates busing. And if the district moves resources from other programs, it would violate California’s constitutional guarantee that all students receive an equitable education.
There’s large issues, legal issues, constitutional issues, equity issues that are at stake here," said Dennis Meyers of the California School Board Association. "From CSBA’s perspective, we’ll be contacting L.A. Unified if we can join it."
The clock is ticking. The cuts are set to take effect in less than three weeks.
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