The school board has decided to save money by cancelling bus service on Fridays. I believe the board members have a very difficult job trying to figure out, in the absence of sufficient state funding, how to pay for our schools. As tough as the job is, though, it seems hard to believe that there aren’t any other ways to realize additional savings in the oh-so-tight school budget. Cutting bus service? Really?

When the first school district was formed on Orcas Island, in 1873, the fundamental problem was transportation. People living in remote parts of the island simply could not reach town every day, and the idea that young children could manage the daily trek over the roadless terrain was laughable.

Back in the 1960’s when my sisters and I rode the mailboat from Shaw Island to attend school on Orcas, the bus was a very necessary part of our transportation scheme. I can’t imagine what we’d have done without the bus – it would have been a long walk to school every day, and I doubt we’d have made it on many cold, wet days. What about the kids today?

Housing remains expensive on Orcas Island, and I suppose more than a few families are living in fairly remote parts of the island. Some of these families have kids, the parents work, and the bus is a critical part of their schoolday. What are these folks to do without a bus on Friday, particularly if the parents work and are unable to drive them to Eastsound? Are they simply going to miss school each Friday? These might be the very kids that need school the most, for a host of reasons.

While I applaud the work of our dedicated school board members, and admire their service, I have to ask if there isn’t some other means of savings with the school budget. Cancelling the school bus on ANY day is a bad idea, in my opinion.

Tom Welch

Olga