Parents in Orlando are outraged after the Orange County School District sent a letter a day after the start of the new school year stating their children could no longer ride the bus because of proximity to the school.
- Parents sent letter that stated their children could no longer ride bus
- School district is citing close proximity to the school as reason
- The stop is less than two miles from school; children will have to walk
“They say we are within the two miles but there is no possible way we’re within the two miles,” said concerned parent Ebony Jones.
The Orange County School District is telling parents who live at the Landon Trace Apartments off of Buchanan Bay Circle they’ll no longer have a bus route for their kids even though they’ve had one for years.
According to the letter, a recent bus stop audit revealed their stop is less than the required two miles from the school, meaning their children will now have to walk to school.
“Initially the school told us we would have a route, they gave us a bus number, times, everything, but then come Wednesday they sent a letter and said come Friday you’ll have to find another way to get your kids to school because you won’t have a bus,” Jones said.
Parents say they are concerned for many reasons: the long walk through less than safe areas and the traffic along John Young Parkway.
“The cars, buses, and trucks are running 45 to 50 miles an hour, it’s not safe or fair for our kids to be walking that way, we need our busses immediately,” concerned parent Emmanuse Occenat said.
According to parents, around 50 kids ride the bus at the stop outside the Landon Trace Apartments. Parents say they have gone to school district and will fight for their kids’ right to have a bus.
“I met a parent yesterday who has an arrangement with a friend who is going to come over here pick up her kid and take them to school, but not every parent has that luxury or has somebody that can take their kids to school,” Jones said.
News 13 reached out to the school district for comment about the removal of the bus stop, but are still waiting to hear back.