To continue the story ...

Yesterday, in the interest of showing how big school districts beyond Tampa Bay are handling their fiscal woes, The Gradebook brought you a story out of Montgomery County, Md. The school system there was considering a budget-cutting move to pare bus service, thereby increasing walking distances for many students.

Here's how the story ends: The Montgomery County school board last night gave superintendent Jerry D. Weast emergency powers to reduce the district's busing obligation if escalating diesel prices make it necessary.

"I know people are upset. I know people are worried about losing their current walking distance," Weast said, according to a Washington Post story. But he added that it was a choice between cutting bus service or cutting textbooks and teachers. "And trust me, having been here a decade, nobody wants to do that, either."

Comments

[Timmy!]

Back away from the "acid", teacher. eeeeassy now...

[Teacher]

Emergency Powers? Isn't that what the Senate gave Senator Palpatine before they knew he was the dark lord Darth Sideous, paving the way for the creation of Darth Vader and the entire Star Wars saga? No, wait, that's what the Patriot Act nearly gave George W. Bush after the attacks of 9/11. Oh, excuse me... same thing.

Florida's 2 mile limit is a state law, not a whim of an all female school board.

[jwt]

3:43--
That's a great idea! Too many kids need to get off their big, fat butts and walk off a little of their big, guts,too! I'm sick of seeing them in the halls!!!!!

If the districts bus the kids to the two-mile limit, could they make them walk the rest of the way? Maybe this (a two mile walk, up-hill each way, in the snow, while dodging gang-members and drug addicts) could substitute for the PE requirements that just passed. Districts could save money on diesel fuel and PE instructors while helping the kids to be much healthier. It sounds too good to be true.