Mother of five feels squeezed by school bus fees
DeAnne Shepler is protesting Y-CJUSD transportation fees.
Yucaipa - DeAnne Shepler and her husband, Kevin, have five children. DeAnne considers her family middle class. And like many in the middle, DeAnne and Kevin have found their income falling behind, or barely keeping up with the high costs of food, gas, and living expenses.
Now, when they can least afford it, another financial obstacle has hit them: school bus transportation fees.
All five children attend school - four at Meadow Creek Elementary, and one at Park View Middle School. Both schools are beyond the walking distance radius and make the children eligible to ride the school bus.
But at a cost.
With the California state budget in a crisis, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger slashed funding that school districts receive. As a result the Yucaipa-Calimesa School District felt in necessary to cut some staffing, cut some expenses, and add some fees.
Among the fees is a transportation fee. And that hurt the Sheplers to the tune of $380, plus an additional $10 per child. For a total of $430, said DeAnne Shepler.
"We couldn't afford it," she said. "They demanded that it all had to be paid up front. Maybe if there was a payment plan and they were willing to work with us it would have been easier to take. There's some parents like us who can't afford this extra expense all at once.
"That's like more than a month's worth of groceries demanded up front."
Dave Stevenson, director of facilities, planning and operations for the district, said implementing the transportation fees wasn't an easy or pleasant decision. But with the budget in a crisis, steps had to be taken.
"We held off as long as we could," said Stevenson. He cited neighboring school districts which had implemented transportation fees. He said that Beaumont and Redlands have been charging transportation fees for three or four years. And that Corona / Norco, and the Fontana school districts began charging this year.
"Their fees are considerably higher," Stevenson said. "We are probably closest to the lowest (of the school districts) in the Inland Empire."
DeAnne Shepler drives her children to school, while Kevin rides his motorcycle to work at Riverside Community College. It's the only two vehicles they own. Their travel arrangement works for now.
But if the weather turns bad, then what? "He will have to drive the van to work if it rains," DeAnne Shepler said. "I don't know how I'll get the kids to school and pick them up."
DeAnne, a stay at home mom, says her husband's income is too high to qualify for a reduced fee, or to qualify for a waiver of fees - termed "Free Fee Schedule" by the district. The reduced fee and free fee schedules, "Is a safety net," said Stevenson. Families meeting certain income levels and criteria could qualify. But not the Shepler's. "Because of our income we didn't qualify," said DeAnne Shepler.
Operating a school bus has become quite expensive. Although Stevenson didn't have exact figures, he said that one bus alone costs about $70,000 a year to operate.
The Sheplers decided to take action. They handed out fliers protesting the fees, calling on parents to attend the Y-CJUSD School Board meeting on Aug. 26. DeAnne even painted a sign on the windows of her van that reads, "This is the only school bus I'll pay for! Thanks Y-CJUSD."
At the school board meeting the Sheplers, along with several other parents voiced their displeasure.
The results, said DeAnne, weren't comforting. "They said they weren't going to set up (payment plans) because of 2,200 bus riders," said DeAnne.
And now? "We've got community support," said DeAnne. "This has got the voters' attention."
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People are lucky to have a discount for having more kids. There are other cities that charge for kids to ride buses. They should fill lucky they have had it free this far. People always want everything for free.
Don't they still have Omnibus. My kids use to use it from Yucaipa High to get up the Blvd then they would have to walk home. Mind you we lived closer to the County line in Calimesa, but it was better than walking all the way home. People need to look into other options. Get a group of moms together and you all take turns getting your kids back and forth to school. I am sure someone will come up with a plan.
Why should responsible citizens have to pay for this woman's kids to get free rides to and from school everyday in the first place? Since when did ammenities such as free transportation become a right?
This woman's warped sense of self entitlement is all too common nowadays, and is a major reason why schools and buses are overcrowded in the first place. Just have more and more kids, it's not like the parents have to be responsible for things like the cost of getting them to school.
I'll gladly continue to put my only child (a choice to have one child because that is all I could afford) through private school and drive her there as well, but I reluctantly give up a chunk of my yearly income so this woman can send 5 kids to school on the bus for free.
Maybe she should consider getting a part time job to help with expenses since all her children are in school. My kids attend the Redlands School District and they charge $450 for 2 kids. $430 for 5 doesn't seem like such a bad deal compared to Redlands.
With all due respect, one of the things that should be taken into account when having a child is the responsibility of getting said child to school. Why should the cost of transporting these children fall on the other taxpayers? I agree with Pam in that looking at other options might be benificial. See about car pooling. DeAnne is a stay home mom as stated in the article... maybe she can work a trade and watch someone elses children for a hour or so and they could take her children to school. It is not pretty, but thinking out of the box may be your only choice. wishing you well.
I hate to sound insensitive, but do people really need to have five kids if they can't afford to pay for ALL of their needs? Perhaps they could have afforded the bus fees if they had had only, say, 2 children. I'm just saying...
I am a stay-at-home Mom - and I homeschool my son. No He attends an accredited charter online program that doesn't cost a thing - except the loss of my salary. My son is in a college prep program that has a credentialed teacher for each subject, and when he graduates high school he will receive a public school diploma. They offer digital photography, C++ programming, and tons of other elective classes. The traditional "brick and mortar" schools are expensive to run, and without that cost the virtual schools can offer more.
Forget the bus, school at home if you can.
In the story DeAnne was open to a payment plan. I can understand that instituting a payment plan is an extra burden for the school district, and I understand why the district had to begin charging for bus transportation in light of the state's budget crisis. But lets face it, payment plans are a financial option that a lot of people with limited income - especially families with children - rely on. Without that option for buying a lot of goods and services, many would be left "window shopping" so to speak. I grew up in a family of 12; 10 kids and eventually a single mom, who raised us all. (Yes, my mom is a saint.) So I take exception to criticizing DeAnne for having a large family. I've met her kids, and they are all wonderful, and well taken care of. My mom struggled financially, but we all made it just fine. But I can remember mom sitting at the kitchen table at night with her bills laid out budgeting and paying for most things on payment plans. Fortunately back in 50s and 60s, bus rides were all free. But had there been a transportation fee without a payment plan option, the Otto kids would have been doing a lot of walking...I don't think "free rides" are justifiable (except for those in dire financial need) in light of the district's budget situation, but maybe a payment plan option should be reconsidered.
First of all let me clear something up. I am not asking for "free bus rides". I am simply asking that I am not charged for my children to ride the school bus when my taxes have already been taken for transportation. I do not work because any income I would make would all go to daycare. My husband and I decided that when we blended our families, we did not decide to have 5 it's a result of two families merging together, that this is what we felt was the best thing to do. The problem with our society today is that we have let our government over tax us and slowly take away all the rights our forefathers fought so hard to break away from when they founded this country. Does anyone remember learning about the Boston Tea Party? There is no sense of self-entitlement. I'd call it being a patriot. Being AMERICAN. The kind that Washington, Jefferson, Hancock, and all the others wanted to be. Wanted US to be. Think about that the next time you pay your taxes. Then pay extra fees because our government leaders have failed to do what they promised. To lead.
First of all let me clear something up. I am not asking for "free bus rides". I am simply asking that I am not charged for my children to ride the school bus when my taxes have already been taken for transportation. I do not work because any income I would make would all go to daycare. My husband and I decided that when we blended our families, we did not decide to have 5 it's a result of two families merging together, that this is what we felt was the best thing to do. The problem with our society today is that we have let our government over tax us and slowly take away all the rights our forefathers fought so hard to break away from when they founded this country. Does anyone remember learning about the Boston Tea Party? There is no sense of self-entitlement. I'd call it being a patriot. Being AMERICAN. The kind that Washington, Jefferson, Hancock, and all the others wanted to be. Wanted US to be. Think about that the next time you pay your taxes. Then pay extra fees because our government leaders have failed to do what they promised. To lead.
For years citizen children have rode for free now it seems only the children of illegal immigrants ride for free. This woman pays her taxes that are used to move those busses yet she cant let her children on them. When are we going to stand up for our rights and stop letting public officials rob us. Yes those busses are still driving around using up our tax money but if you are a worker paying the taxes to run those busses you dont get to ride for free. For you inconsiderate people who rip apart a loving mother who stays home with her kids till they are in school full time instead of paying out the wahooo to farm out her children and have someone else raise her kids like so many other mothers do, you should know that she gets no help from any state agency or welfare or unemployment. Her family is self contained and well taken care of. I cant believe you people commenting on this. Why do you all have a problem with her wanting for her kids what the children of illegal immigrants get. Why shouldnt our children get the same bussig that we had as children. We the tax payers are all paying for those busses to run thru our town so why shouldnt our children ride them too. I think we all should be upset with the fact that we have a school that was built to the tune of 34 million dollars that our board approved to build knowing they could not build a road to it and has been sitting empty for years. In fact one board member thinks the whole thing is funny and laughs if you bring it up. Its bad enough that the teachers have to beg for water, tissue and other things that the school board would normaly pay for now this.
Kevin
Yucaipa
For years citizen children have rode for free now it seems only the children of illegal immigrants ride for free. This woman pays her taxes that are used to move those busses yet she cant let her children on them. When are we going to stand up for our rights and stop letting public officials rob us. Yes those busses are still driving around using up our tax money but if you are a worker paying the taxes to run those busses you dont get to ride for free. For you inconsiderate people who rip apart a loving mother who stays home with her kids till they are in school full time instead of paying out the wahooo to farm out her children and have someone else raise her kids like so many other mothers do, you should know that she gets no help from any state agency or welfare or unemployment. Her family is self contained and well taken care of. I cant believe you people commenting on this. Why do you all have a problem with her wanting for her kids what the children of illegal immigrants get. Why shouldnt our children get the same bussig that we had as children. We the tax payers are all paying for those busses to run thru our town so why shouldnt our children ride them too. I think we all should be upset with the fact that we have a school that was built to the tune of 34 million dollars that our board approved to build knowing they could not build a road to it and has been sitting empty for years. In fact one board member thinks the whole thing is funny and laughs if you bring it up. Its bad enough that the teachers have to beg for water, tissue and other things that the school board would normaly pay for now this.
Kevin
Yucaipa
Well, Bob Otto, I take offense to people having such large families. In this world of 6.6 billion people, NOBODY from anywhere should be having more than 2-3 children maximum. It's called being a responsible human being. This world does not have the resources to accomodate such large numbers of people, and it's up to us to realize this and act accordingly. Do you really think that all of the other species that live on this planet should have to suffer so people can have 5 or 10 kids?!
HUMANS AREN'T THE ONLY SPECIES ON EARTH, WE JUST ACT LIKE IT.
Kevin, when did this story become about illegal immigrants? How do you know that the only children that ride the bus are children of illegal immigrants? Is it because they are all Mexican? I don't know as I don't pay attention to who rides buses, I am just wondering where you got your information. Some mean things have been said about your family here which were totally uncalled for and cruel but no need to be so angry towards the children that do ride the bus, many of which were likely born here.
Anyway Kevin, not all Mexican-Americans are illegal immigrants. I am the daughter of legal immigrants and rode the Yucaipa School buses my entire school life before I learned to drive. Thankfully the service was always free because my parents never made more than minimum wage working on an apple farm. It would have been hard for them to pay, they would have, we never had cable and other non necessities in order to make ends meet but we never went without and always still had plenty of fun.
I actually do think that there should be a way for all children to ride the buses for free. Many parents have to work, others are caregivers, some are ill, or for whatever reason can't drive the kids to school and many more, even with only one child can simply not afford it. There aren't too many high paying jobs in the area. Also, some children, for example those in Oak Glen and Forest Falls live rather far away, way to far to walk if they can't afford bus service. Aside from all that too, riding the bus is a learning experience. I learned some of my best life lessons about treating others with respect and accepting all people from my favorite bus driver, Arvin. He was a class act that never spoke an ill word about others. We could all stand to have positive influences like that in our lives. I really do think that all children should have the opportunity to have free public transportation as it too is a part of the learning experience of school and life.
There has to be a better solution folks. Maybe if all the parents and school employees work together perhaps there are creative solutions to get all the kids free bus service. Work together people, not against each other, afterall it is for all the children. Every last one of them.
Jen,
The information is from our government. More specificaly CA Dept. of Education. If you visit their web site you will see exactly how much or your tax money is used for Illegal Immigrants and the offspring of Illegal Immigrants. Besides that God gave me a brain and I use it. If almost all the children waiting for a bus are speaking Spanish it dosn't take a genius to figure it out. The problem is not only in our schools but in all public resources. With the economic situation we are in I find it repulsive to give anything to people who are here illegaly. Especailly a group of people who hung the American flag, which I fought for, upside down in several school yards and hung Mexican flags in several others. Mexico dosn't put up with this behavior from any other contry so why do we. I dont blame Mexicans for wanting a better life, but they should protest their own government for it. If they want to live and work in America they need to become Americans, and not falsly accuse Americans of stealing California from them. Respect the law of the land and contribute to our great country instead of exploiting it. Again I dont blame anyone for comming here for a better life, but I do blame the government for not inforcing the laws that they take our tax money to inforce. If you read what I Wrote you would understand why I brought up Illegal Immigration. When tax paying citizens of our great country are paying for busses they are not allowed to put they're own kids on with out paying extra, but the children of illegal immigrants are allowed on with out paying even tax's for free, this is called discrimination and untill the REAL citizens stop being afraid of being called a racist for standing up for what's right then we will always be discriminated against.