To: Michael Messore, Superintendent of Barrington Schools, Barrington School Committee Members and First Student Bus Company
Keep bus stop at 114 & Matthewson Road!
We, the families in the Hampden Meadows Bus 1 neighborhood, petition the Superintendent of Barrington Schools, along with the School Committee, and First Student, to keep our bus stop at 114 & Matthewson Road.
This afternoon-only bus stop was created back in April of 2011, as a remedy to the 45 + minute bus ride that many of the children on Bus 1 would be facing if they were not allowed to get off at the intersection, be safely across busy Route 114, and walk, along with friends, safely to their homes. At that time, Barrington schools indicated to the parents seeking to create the stop that it had no jurisdiction over the specifics of bus stops. First Student made the decision to allow the stop based on an outpouring of public support.
In the Fall of 2013, First Student began asking students to bring in a written letter from parents the first week of school so they could have a record of which students had permission to get off at that stop. After the letter was submitted, the intersection became their official after-school stop.
This fall, the stop at 114 & Matthewson Road was listed as an official stop, published in both the Barrington Times and on the Barrington Public Schools website. However, the driver of Bus 1 again asked parents to submit a letter giving her permission to drop their children off at the intersection of 114 & Matthewson Road.
On Wednesday, August 27th, the driver of Bus 1 told her students to tell their parents that the bus would no longer be stopping at 114 & Matthewson Road. We were stunned that this information was "communicated" so casually.
Once we learned of this intended action, we contacted the Superintendent, the Bus Company, and our School Committee members to voice our objections and ask for reconsideration of the decision.
On the afternoon of Thursday, August 28th, we received an email from Superintendent Messore:
"In response to emails received regarding the bus stop at County Road and Mathewson Road please be advised that this is not a valid designed bus stop. Bus stops are established in close proximity to the address(es) of eligible students. After a careful review with First Student it has been determined that there are no eligible students assigned to this stop. We will be making this change effective Tuesday, September 2nd. A new schedule will be posted on Barrington Public School’s website. I apologize for the any inconvenience this may have caused."
We, the affected families, past, present and future, in the Hampden Meadows Bus 1 neighborhood, urge you to reconsider this decision.
We have learned that the primary objector to the bus stop is one resident at the bottom of Matthewson Road, who dislikes a few things: 1) that parents park along the street near his house while waiting for their children on rainy days, or when they need to hustle them off to an appointment and can't wait for them to walk home; 2) that some people have occasionally used his driveway to turn around; and 3) that children walk on his lawn. It is important to note that Matthewson Road is a public road, on which we all have a right to drive and/or stop, and that the 3 feet of property abutting the public roadway is also property owned by the town. If a resident finds that the influx of his neighbors to his immediate vicinity from 3:30 -3:45 each day is posing a public safety issue, he should be addressing his concerns with the police department, not the school department. While we would encourage each other to park in the lot at the intersection of 114 & Matthewson, but know that there is no requirement that we do so.
In response to the pointed objections posed, we would like to enumerate the many benefits that having this bus stop provides to our 30+ kids:
1) Reduction of time spent on the bus to approximately 15 minutes, which covers 2+ miles - and avoidance of an additional 30+ minutes of bus time, covering only 1 mile.
2) Safe crossing of a busy road with the assistance of a crossing guard.
3) Acknowledgment of the safety in numbers philosophy: even though student numbers dwindle as they get closer to their homes, by the time that happens they are in close proximity to their homes.
4) Health benefits of being off the bus: physical activity, fresh air.
PLEASE REINSTATE THE AFTERNOON ONLY BUS STOP AT 114 & MATTHEWSON!
This afternoon-only bus stop was created back in April of 2011, as a remedy to the 45 + minute bus ride that many of the children on Bus 1 would be facing if they were not allowed to get off at the intersection, be safely across busy Route 114, and walk, along with friends, safely to their homes. At that time, Barrington schools indicated to the parents seeking to create the stop that it had no jurisdiction over the specifics of bus stops. First Student made the decision to allow the stop based on an outpouring of public support.
In the Fall of 2013, First Student began asking students to bring in a written letter from parents the first week of school so they could have a record of which students had permission to get off at that stop. After the letter was submitted, the intersection became their official after-school stop.
This fall, the stop at 114 & Matthewson Road was listed as an official stop, published in both the Barrington Times and on the Barrington Public Schools website. However, the driver of Bus 1 again asked parents to submit a letter giving her permission to drop their children off at the intersection of 114 & Matthewson Road.
On Wednesday, August 27th, the driver of Bus 1 told her students to tell their parents that the bus would no longer be stopping at 114 & Matthewson Road. We were stunned that this information was "communicated" so casually.
Once we learned of this intended action, we contacted the Superintendent, the Bus Company, and our School Committee members to voice our objections and ask for reconsideration of the decision.
On the afternoon of Thursday, August 28th, we received an email from Superintendent Messore:
"In response to emails received regarding the bus stop at County Road and Mathewson Road please be advised that this is not a valid designed bus stop. Bus stops are established in close proximity to the address(es) of eligible students. After a careful review with First Student it has been determined that there are no eligible students assigned to this stop. We will be making this change effective Tuesday, September 2nd. A new schedule will be posted on Barrington Public School’s website. I apologize for the any inconvenience this may have caused."
We, the affected families, past, present and future, in the Hampden Meadows Bus 1 neighborhood, urge you to reconsider this decision.
We have learned that the primary objector to the bus stop is one resident at the bottom of Matthewson Road, who dislikes a few things: 1) that parents park along the street near his house while waiting for their children on rainy days, or when they need to hustle them off to an appointment and can't wait for them to walk home; 2) that some people have occasionally used his driveway to turn around; and 3) that children walk on his lawn. It is important to note that Matthewson Road is a public road, on which we all have a right to drive and/or stop, and that the 3 feet of property abutting the public roadway is also property owned by the town. If a resident finds that the influx of his neighbors to his immediate vicinity from 3:30 -3:45 each day is posing a public safety issue, he should be addressing his concerns with the police department, not the school department. While we would encourage each other to park in the lot at the intersection of 114 & Matthewson, but know that there is no requirement that we do so.
In response to the pointed objections posed, we would like to enumerate the many benefits that having this bus stop provides to our 30+ kids:
1) Reduction of time spent on the bus to approximately 15 minutes, which covers 2+ miles - and avoidance of an additional 30+ minutes of bus time, covering only 1 mile.
2) Safe crossing of a busy road with the assistance of a crossing guard.
3) Acknowledgment of the safety in numbers philosophy: even though student numbers dwindle as they get closer to their homes, by the time that happens they are in close proximity to their homes.
4) Health benefits of being off the bus: physical activity, fresh air.
PLEASE REINSTATE THE AFTERNOON ONLY BUS STOP AT 114 & MATTHEWSON!
Why is this important?
Please reinstate the afternoon only bus stop at 114 & Matthewson Road!