Valerie Parnell, Seminole County Watch columnist

Just when all was quiet on the eastern front of the School District's multi-faceted war with the residents of Seminole County, the District felt the need to whack the beehive and, pardon the mixed metaphors, stir up yet another hornet's nest.

With less than two weeks remaining in the school year, the District early last week sent an alarming notice to the residents of the Sawgrass subdivision. 

The same residents who were up in arms barely more than a month ago, when for the second time within six months they feared losing busing for their children to Evans Elementary school.

The District had planned then to revoke the courtesy busing privileges from the area, because the residents lived less than two miles from the school.  The District was looking to cut the busing costs from their budget while directing the buses to service at other area schools.

Following community protest in a repeat of the scenario that was played out in late 2004, when the District first announced similar plans, the District again backed off. 

Their decision allowed the kids to retain their courtesy busing, to the relief of parents and the community, who had feared the specter of children between the ages of 5 and 10 years old traversing to school each day along busy State Road 434.

The six-lane highway and its posted speed limits of 50 miles per hour divides the children from their school, leaving parents in fear of the District throwing the children off the bus and onto the street.

When the District agreed in early April to keep the busing through the 2005-2006 school year, the parents thought they were safe until then, or at least this October, when the District said they would again review the terms of the courtesy busing.

Thus, imagine the shock and concern when parents received notice last Monday, May 9, that effective two days later, the children's bus stop would be moved from just inside the Sawgrass subdivision entrance off of State Road 434 to the highway itself.

Rather than waiting until the end of the school year to look at the situation, or giving parents advance notice and an opportunity to work with the school system, the district arbitrarily notified the parents of the change that was to come within several days.

As would be expected, the community once again reacted, and once again the School District found itself appropriately pulling back from an ill-conceived decision.

But only after several days of confusion and angst for and among the parents.  Circumstances that eventually came to light show what may actually be a legitimate concern for the School District's Transportation department.

Apparently, the bus must turnaround in a cul-de-sac once it enters the subdivision to pick up the children.  Neighborhood residents are parking in the street, blocking the bus from being able to pull through. 

As a result, the bus must back up to return to State Road 434, creating a safety hazard the District is seeking to avoid. 

The circumstances reflect what might be a legitimate logistical concern.  The District's unfortunate response reflects no parallel concern for the school children involved.  You do not absolve one safety concern by creating another that palces children in danger. 

You especially do not place children ages five to ten on a six-lane highway and have them stand and wait there for an extended period of time for a ride to school.

Even more so, you do not impose such a condition upon a neighborhood whose parents have fought so valiantly and desperately twice within the past six months to keep their children off that very road.

As it now stands, after several days of confusion and unnecessary anxiety imposed upon the parents in the Sawgrass community, the busing will continue and efforts are being made to facilitate its being done so in the future.

Once having the situation explained, the parents have come to understand the District's position and are seeking to help in satisfactorily resolving it.  That should have been the position from the start, but once again, the School District's inept handling of the situation created dilemma and controversy when none needed to exist.

In a way, the School Bus that enters the Sawgrass community is a perfect representation of Seminole County's School District and School Board. 

The District and School Board are much like that bus, having gone down a familiar and predetermined path with little difficulty, as long as no unexpected circumstances presented themselves.  

Being faced with such unexpected circumstances and the dilemma they provide, they have no idea of how to respond.  Even worse, having gone down a road they never should have traveled, they have no idea how to turn things around and get back on the right track.

As has been pointed out elsewhere within Seminole County Watch, and with apologies to Slats Murphy for stealing one of his favorite lines,  it is clearly time to get grandma out from behind the wheel.

Email Valerie Parnell