Michigan Can't Afford School Bus Safety Inspections, May Stop Service

[AllentownJake]

State budget cuts have led Michigan to lay off all of its state school bus inspectors, which means that as soon as Nov. 2 schools that can't pay for the inspections themselves may stop their bus services, reports Ron French of the Detroit News. The inspection program, which costs the state $1.4 million a year, is being eliminated in order to battle a $2.8 billion deficit. It is illegal to operate school buses without yearly inspections.

Nathan Rowen, director of transportation for the Lansing School District, expressed concern that his district would be unable to bus its roughly 4,500 students to and from school. "I could have the fleet out of business if they haven't corrected yet," he said, according to Scott Davis of the Lansing State Journal.

State Rep. Richard LeBlanc (D-Westland) suggested that the law be amended to make the safety inspections voluntary: "It's not a good thing, but it's a budget reality." The inspector lay-offs, said LeBlanc, "really point to the economic distress we're in...he money simply is not there."


Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/22/michigan-cant-afford-scho_n_330031.html

I'm beginning to believe our society is irrevocably broken. We can afford money for two wars, bailouts of wall street, and a 4% increase in the defense budget, yet we can't afford to send students to school safely.

[damntexdem]

1. Well, let this hit patents whose kids won't be picked up by a bus.

Then there may be some push back.

[AllentownJake]

3. Michiagn is broke

The parents can push back all they want to, the state is on the brink of turning into a 3rd world country.

[Trillo]

2. Yes. Our society is broken.

I don't know if it's irrevocably broken.

[AllentownJake]

4. Nothing is being done to fix it

There is a lot of propping up of the false prosperity brought upon by debt over the past 30 years.

[Trillo]

10. Audit the Fed is a step in a liberal direction.

Another possibility is debt forgiveness. A reboot. I don't hear much about that, however. Just rumors.

The economy and transactions have gone worldwide, while laborers are restricted from traveling freely over borders. So a solution there is to restrict the worldwide flows of money, such as strong tariffs (not punitive, instead protective): or open up national borders to free legal migration. In the former case, a few very wealthy and powerful entities would object, in the latter case, local citizens would. What exists right now is a money-labor imbalance, and we know how it's turned out so far.

More localized currencies may be needed, though I'm not an expert. Was it called "Leaps"? No. http://www.gmlets.u-net.com/">Let systems. I don't know why States, even counties or cities, maybe even neighborhoods don't adopt similar systems, particularly if it falls completely apart. (I've been meaning to read more about that, it was given to me by another DUer many years ago.)

[FarCenter]

5. Don't they charge the bus operators an inspection fee to make the program self-supporting

Other states charge the bus operators a fee, so that the cost of the program is covered by the inspection fees.

Ultimately, the school districts would pay through higher prices for bussing service, I suppose. But at least the costs would be borne by the districts in proportion to their use of busses.

The cost of inspection would be about the same as a day's worth of diesel fuel for the bus.

[AllentownJake]

7. Michigan school disctrics probably own their busses

Therefore they'd be charging the districts.

Tax collections are down for most of the districts due to the fact of the housing crisis and unemployment. The school districts are already struggling, and I'm guessing that the economically struggling districts need the support the most.

If we don't educate the economically deprived areas, you create a situation with a group of students that have in reality no future.

[FarCenter]

8. In the poorest urban districts, student often walk.

It appears that many elementary school students in Detroit walk to their neighborhood schools. High school students may take D-DOT public busses, for free or at reduced rates.

A lot of bussing is done in spread out suburban areas, and the costs shouldn't be borne out of general state revenues. We should not be subsidizing low-density housing.

http://www.detroit.k12.mi.us/admin/ppo/transportation/faq/

[AllentownJake]

9. You also have a lot of rural areas in Michigan

Rural areas are just as poor as urban neighborhoods.

You also have districts that encompass multiple small towns, where the actual school is miles from the small town. How do you think those should be dealt with those areas.

[FarCenter]

11. Subsidies for transportation in rural districts are already part of state aid funding negotiations

This should just be part of whatever rural district subsidy is considered by the legislator. Not all rural districts are poor, so average family income or some similar measure should be used to determine which districts get how much.

[blues90]

6. I think you're right, our society is completely broken

Not only is it the buses but teachers and the entire infrustucture.

These wars and their continued funding are not only killing our own people in more than battlefield deaths they also create more enemies and kill citizens of other countries we attacked.

It's like this enormous runaway steamroller and everyone is trying to stay out of it's path,everyone that is to say the common people.

Even the mass transit which we need more of is outdated and ready for scrapping yet there is not a dime for that let alone expanding it.

Perhaps GM repair centers can do it as a gesture for free since they got bailed out , yeah right , what was I thinking.

[blue_onyx]

12. People should call their senators and representatives

Pressure needs to be put on the MI legislature to fund schools.