Reply #36: I'm not arguing that it's not about money...

[catabryna]

because it most definitely is. And, I totally agree that belts are a safety issue and as I said, I don't think anyone, including myself, has a problem with seat belts on school buses. I have a special needs child who uses a five-point car seat in a school bus. At the same time, my mother was a school bus driver for about 12 years, and I remember riding the bus. Most kids would belt themselves in for the long haul but, there is always going to be a smart aleck kid on the bus who is going to refuse to put on their belt or take it off after the bus driver has done his/her walk through. It's important to remember that a school district that spends $1M settling the lawsuit filed by little Johnny's family when he broke his leg after standing up on the school bus at the same time that the bus driver had to slam on the brakes to avoid an accident, is $1M less our kids have for the classroom. That's a concern to me and I don't believe it's a reflection of how I value kids in our society; I do have one, afterall.