PARENTS PROTEST BUS ROUTE CUTBACKS.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Some 50 parents complained to Eastside Union School District trustees about budget cuts that left fewer youngsters eligible for bus rides to and from school.

The cash-strapped district cut seven bus routes to save between $300,000 and $350,000 and increased (by a half-mile) the distance from schools inside which no bus service will be provided: 1 1/2 miles for elementary school students and 2 miles for middle school pupils.

``Money shouldn't take precedence over kids,'' said parent Anthony Wilder, drives his two sons, ages 7 and 11, to school rather than make them walk. ``Where I come from (Illinois), they take care of the kids back there.''

Parents lodged complaints about the lack of school buses and increased walking distances to school at Monday's meeting and the board's meeting last month.

Their concerns include their children taking 45 minutes to one hour to walk to school, carrying heavy book bags and traversing neighborhoods where sex offenders reside.

Parents also said they did not know about the changes, although district officials said they sent home notices with students at the end of last school year.

Information about the cuts also was contained in another notice sent out two weeks ago. School started Monday.

Superintendent Colleen Larson said the district, affected by state cuts in education spending, does not have the funds to restore the bus service. The district in the past two years has had to make about $2 million in cuts.

Parents have asked if they could pay for the bus service, but Larson said each route cost between $40,000 and $50,000 each, which would cost parents about $800 a child.

Larson said parents could work out ways to help each other, such as car-pooling or walking a group of children to school. Larson also said she would look into establishing after-school care, possibly through a Boys & Girls Club.

The district does not want to provide morning before-school care because of problems with parents dropping off children too early where there is no supervision, Larson said.

She also said the public bus service charges $36 a month for a bus pass that provides unlimited rides. One-way rides cost $1.20, Larson said.

Wilder's two sons attend Tierra Bonita South Elementary and Cole Middle schools.

``My problem is a 7-year-old who is not mature enough to go straight home,'' Wilder said.

Wilder also was concerned about potential pedophiles living in neighborhoods that the children have to walk through. ``One straggler behind, someone can snatch that kid,'' Wilder said.

Karen Maeshiro, [phone]

karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com