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For Immediate Release:
January 29, 2007
Contact: Frank Sobrino,
Press Secretary
O: (212) 669-4193
Statement
by Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum
On
Changes to School Bus Routes
“In the dead of winter, with
fresh snow and ice on the ground this morning, parents across
the city scrambled to get their kids to school. Some parents had
to get their young children to a bus stop by as early as 5:28
in the morning. Others had no choice but to send their children
to school on public transportation. My office has already heard
from a parent whose child’s new bus stop is 15 blocks from
home. She received notice of the change just last Wednesday.
“I also heard from a parent
whose child is scheduled to be picked up nearly 30 minutes after
the start of the school day. It would be laughable if it hadn’t
made some poor kid’s day miserable and wasn’t the
source of relentless anxiety for the parent who called.
“This mid-year bus route shuffle
is another example of the Department of Education being clueless
to what it is to be a parent in New York City.”
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