Bonduel+Bussing+Interview+Questions

Thank you for meeting with us today. We are with Mrs. Sorlie’s CA class. We are here to ask questions to help us solve our problem for Project Lemonade. Project Lemonade is a collaborative project between schools to “make lemonade out of life’s lemons.” The problem that we are trying to improve is the conduct on the busses. First, we’ll ask you some questions about overcrowding on the busses. The first question we have is: 1). On some busses, some grade level kids are packed together with three to a seat, while other grade level kids have one to a seat. What have you tried to do about this problem?  Mr. Berger: Not directly involved, mr. burhant is. Usually 3 to a seat, but not always. Bus overcrowding dies down as kids get dropped off.  Dr. Behnke: It all depends on what the bus driver thinks. If he wants the little kids closer to the front, or if they want the high school kids separated, etc.   Mrs. Jones: They had assigned seats, and they tried to have grade level sections. Younger toward front, and worked toward back with age.   Mr. Buhrandt: Some buses are full or aren’t as full because some kids don’t always ride. Sometimes they do take the bus, so need to keep room for them. Separate spots for age groups. Doesn’t want younger kids with older kids because it could cause problems. Sometimes when kids are put up front, it doesn’t always work. Sometimes the kids cause problems/trouble up front, too. 2). Why are some bus routes overcrowded, while some routes seem under crowded?  Mr. Berger: wait for morgan.  Dr. Behnke: Buses have seating capacity of 72, while sometimes there are 82 on the bus. We figure out how to make the routes by how well they know the family – like when or if they ride the bus.  Mrs. Jones: if there’s a lot of kids that have to get off on one spot (like day care), they put on one bus.   Mr. Buhrandt: Some kids don’t always ride, but have to make room for them.  3). What time spans do bussing take for different routes? Mr. berger: said not familiar with this. Most buses arrive at 7:45. most aren’t over an hour long. Dr. Behnke: Same as Question #2 Mrs. Jones: it varies. It depends on the number of kids, where they live, and where they go to school. Mr. Buhrandt: It takes 1.5 hours to 5 minutes, but the average is about 45 minutes. 4). Why are some kids getting bussed in the village and some kids do not? Is there a geographical area that qualifies for bussing? Are there any weather issues considered?  Mr. Berger: law for state says you can’t transport less than 2 miles; chose to not transport middle schoolers. Transporting elementary school kids. More money to transport others.  Dr. Behnke: Less than 2 miles; worked something out with state. STH 117 and CTH BE are well traveled roads, so kids are at a hazard to cross it. If they have to cross those roads, kids can get bussed. See diagram.  Mrs. Jones: It’s by age, and since there are no sidewalks in spots, they don’t have to go across the highway.   Mr. B: Didn’t get this answer.   5). Have you ever tried using crossing guards to assist students across the streets? Are they adults or older students? Mr. berger: as long as he’s been there, no crossing guards. Asked city for sidewalks. Haven’t used crossing guards, but would like conversations about it. Thought using older kids could work. Dr. Behke: No, never used them. Other school used them. Don’t think they’re necessary. Mrs. Jones: They did use them a while back, the kids were responsible enough to cross the streets on their own. Used older volunteer students. Mr. B: Used them, but they cost too much. Didn’t fit the budget. Now that we’re done discussing crowding issues, we’d like to ask some questions about harassment and vandalism. 1) Do you think it’s fair for the older students to kick the littler kids out of their seats? What have you tried to do about this behavior in the past?  Mr. berger: dealt with issues, level kids out by age from front to back. Privilege to go to back, right of passage. Then kids in trouble have to mingle with little kids. Students have to get along by themselves as drivers need to concentrate on driving.   Dr. Behnke: Every bus driver is different. Assigned seats if too out of hand. Privilege to go to back of bus. Some bus drivers don’t let older kids sit in very back seat incase you get rear-ended.   2). What have you tried that didn’t work so we know what we need to improve on? 3). What types of kids or age groups do you think don’t get along well together?  4). If you’ve noticed vandalism on the bus, where is it most occurring? What age group of kids normally sit there? The next area that we’re analyzing has to do with rules on the bus. First, we’ll ask about student rules, and then we have some questions about bus driver rules. 1). What bus rules are common between all bus routes for all students?  2). Some busses allow electronics, while others do not. Why is that? 3). Would you be open to arranging for more adult supervision for the busses? What if we tried to arrange for volunteers?  4). What rules do the bus drivers follow? For example, some drivers seem to talk a lot on their cell phones. Is this allowed? Our final area of concern has to do with technology use on the bus. 1). Why does it appear that the bus camera isn’t being used?  2). How did you get the money for the bus cameras? Was it from a grant? 3). If we were able to raise money for new cameras, do you think it would be utilized? 4). If we were able to arrange for money to purchase small lockers to be attached under the seats of a bus, would you allow electronic games to be used? (if not, why?) Thank you for meeting with us. We felt we needed more background as to the current situation on the bus in order to brainstorm ways to improve the bussing situation. (shake hands)