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Bus-stop ban stuns, angers neighbors
By MARY SPICUZZA, Times Staff Writer When Susan Smith went online and couldn't find this fall's school bus schedule for Brookridge, she thought the school district had forgotten to post it. It hadn't. Brookridge won't allow buses to pick up children inside its gates this year. But it didn't notify parents about the decision, residents said. Smith, who has two children attending different schools, learned of Brookridge's decision when she called Hernando's School Board office on Monday. By Wednesday morning, she and several dozen outraged parents gathered at the community's clubhouse to vent their frustrations about Brookridge's sudden and silent bus-stop ban. "School starts in just over a week, and nobody told us there about this," Smith said. "We have a moral obligation to get our kids to school." By noon, Smith was surrounded by parents and grandparents furious about the decision and when they found out about it. School begins on Aug. 12. "I'm a single mom. I need a bus service or I can't work," said 45-year-old Cheryl Bychewski. "I like this community, but I don't like what they're doing here. It's very sad." She and others called it the latest example of discrimination against children at Brookridge, a deed-restricted community of more than 2,000 homes that advertises itself as a "55 and older community." Tracy Dwyer, a mother of two who is working to organize Brookridge parents, said more than 100 children were relying on the clubhouse bus stop for getting to school. But she said the community seems to be trying to push them out. On Wednesday, Brookridge's general manager Ruth McGeachan had no comment about the busing decision. As parents rallied to keep their bus stop, representatives for Brookridge Community Property Owners Inc. were negotiating a replacement location with the school district. Barry Crowley, coordinator of safety and security for the district, said that he and Brookridge agreed to a stop outside Brookridge's front gates. He said it will be on an access road being built off of State Road 50, just behind Register Chevrolet. Brookridge agreed to let the buses drive through the gates so they could turn around safely and leave, Crowley said. "The older people were complaining about the buses," Crowley said. "This is not us. What we look for is a safe place to pick up and a safe place to turn around." Ronald Musacchia, president of the association for BCPO, said Brookridge had offered to open its back gates so the children could walk to school, but the district wouldn't allow that. Why? It hadn't included a crossing guard in its budget. Musacchia said Brookridge has nothing against kids. He said this was merely a location change, one partly caused by a few children who have vandalized the clubhouse. Musacchia said he was told that about 25 kids there ride the bus. Parents who learned of the new agreement were not pleased. "Those kids will get killed on that road," said Tom Crianza, who planned to close his purchase of a home in Brookridge on Wednesday. "What parent is going to want to leave their kid out there?" Crianza and his wife, Barbara, have a 13-year-old son who is disabled and relies on a bus for transportation. They said they don't want their child, Kevin Walters, steering his wheelchair several miles to the bus stop. On Wednesday, Walters said he didn't know if Brookridge would make an exception for his bus. Children and parents gathered said they weren't exactly sure why Brookridge doesn't want a bus stop. Some said older residents were complaining about speeding bus drivers and loud vehicles, others said residents didn't want children hanging out at the clubhouse. Pat Moore, 65, said the problem is not the children but the older residents. She said the elderly living in Brookridge are setting a bad example. "How can our children respect the elderly when they're being treated less than second-class citizens?" Moore asked. Moore has two grandchildren living in Brookridge and said she would fight for their rights to get to school safely. "You can't get between a mom and her kids. It's like a tiger protecting her cubs," she said. "And grandparents are even worse." -- Mary Spicuzza can be reached toll free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6232. Her e-mail address is spicuzza@sptimes.com
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From today's Hernando Times Letters |
