School bus stop no longer safe

To the editor: I feel it is my duty to advise our community about some policy issues that I have been made aware of in the past several weeks. I am a mother of a 5-year-old kindergartner at Smith Clove Elementary School. My son’s school bus stop has recently been modified and I feel that the new stop is no longer safe. I contacted the bus garage and spoke to a supervisor and explained my concerns. The safety issue is not with the stop itself, but with the walk from the stop to our home, which is around a blind, downhill curve without sidewalks. His initial response was that: “Our responsibility ends when the child gets off the bus.” When I took this issue to John Canzoneri, the acting superintendent, he refused to listen to my fears, stating, “It is not our policy to address an individual parent’s safety concerns.” Then who should be addressing my concerns? If a parent and taxpayer has a safety issue, who do they turn to for help? I have since sent a letter to the Board of Education, pleading my case, and I am hoping they will address this as a unique safety issue. In the meantime, I am worried each day that my son gets off that school bus. Just today, a car came around that blind curve and did not see the stopped bus with its’ lights on and went directly past it. Luckily my son was still on the bus when this happened but next time we might not be so lucky. As a community, we all need to work together to ensure the safety of all of our children, but from what I’ve seen so far, a parent’s safety concerns are not held in any regard. Hopefully, our new superintendent will feel differently. Sincerely, Laura L. Iannuzzo Central Valley