Karen V. Johnson and Timothy S. Stern: Anne Arundel council should force schools to invest in transportation | COMMENTARY

“Nana, I don’t want to go to school on the school bus because it doesn’t feel safe.”

This is what Toni Pratt, a leader from Anne Arundel Connecting Together, told us her granddaughter said to her one day.

“After being so excited to finally get on that big yellow school bus, she started to hate it. She was sitting or standing in the aisle, packed in with all those other kids.”

When we asked other people throughout ACT if they were experiencing the same problem, we heard a resounding and angry: “Yes.”

Anne Arundel County has an inefficient school transportation program. It’s especially impacting minority communities, raising serious racial equity questions. While many buses in the Annapolis cluster are overcrowded, 125 buses in the county carry 10 or fewer students.

Only 66% of buses are at over half capacity. School administrators report that buses are late 60% of the time, impacting educational performance and denying breakfast for some students.

Superintendent George Arlotto sought to address this problem. Following the recommendations of an extensive study commissioned by the school board, his budget requested $745,100 in funding for seven transportation positions, among other improvements. This modest request could not only yield a smarter, safer bus system but potentially $2.48 million in savings.

We were astonished when the Board of Education removed this funding. Concerned about student mental health amid the coronavirus, they narrowly voted to transfer these funds to mental health and other positions. This has created a specious argument between transportation and mental health.

Of course, we agree that our students could benefit from even more additional staff to help them cope with today’s pandemic-related pressures. Yet the school board should not fund those positions at the expense of these long-needed transportation positions.

The pandemic will likely only further complicate transportation challenges. Further, overcrowded buses are a mental health issue. There are other ways to secure that funding, such as increased efficiency of transportation or the routine balance excess that has been between $1.2 million to $8 million for 10 of the last 12 years.

The County Council has the authority to overrule the school board’s request. We hope they will agree with us that we never want to hear our children tell us how unsafe their bus is.

We do not want to hear of a single child going hungry because his or her bus was late.

We do not want to continue with a wasteful transportation system that could save $2.48 million by giving seven people jobs for a $745,100 investment.

We urge our county counselors to make the best choice for our students and restore these funds.

The Rev. Dr. Karen V. Johnson is senior pastor of First Christian Community Church. The Rev. Timothy S. Stern is senior pastor of Ark and Dove Presbyterian Church. They are co-chairs of Anne Arundel Connecting Together. For more information, visit actiaf.org.