Politics & Government
Controversial Bus Stop to Remain Unchanged
At its Oct. 11 meeting, the Saucon Valley School Board took no action to provide van service that some parents say would make a former bus stop usable again.
No action was taken at the Oct. 11 Saucon Valley School Board meeting to change or provide a van for students whose bus stop on Finady Avenue in Fountain Hill .
“(Superintendent Dr. Sandra Fellin and Supervisor of Operations Wally Zimpfer) are challenged daily to review bus stops,” said Saucon Valley School Board President Lachlan Peeke. “It is an ongoing, continuous challenge.”
Peeke, who said he previously worked in transportation at the , explained that there are numerous Pennsylvania codes, rules and regulations that must be followed.
Find out what's happening in Hellertown-Lower Sauconwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Subtracting those students who walk to school or are driven by their parents from the equation, Peeke said transporting the remaining students is still “a massive task.”
“The district’s job is to look at routes and stops to effectively and efficiently transport students,” he said. “We have no control over who lives where.”
Find out what's happening in Hellertown-Lower Sauconwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Since he was out of town when other members were driven to the stop, Peeke asked Zimpfer to drive him to the bus stop that parents have objected to, which they say forces their children to walk near the home of registered sex offender.
Peeke said he believes the stop at Finady Avenue, just outside the school district, is the best spot for the bus stop, and that it would cost the district $94,000 to provide a van for the students that used to board their bus at Moravia Street and South Benner Avenue.
After a school bus slid on ice while turning near that hillside bus stop, district officials decided this year to relocate the stop to a flatter location at a lower elevation.
Parent Paula Steuer told the school board that she has spoken to State Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-18) about her bus stop concerns--specifically her concern about the bus stop being close to a sex offender--and said Boscola told her to start a petition. Steuer handed the board a petition, which she said had received 200 signatures.
“This is not a legal issue,” Steuer said. “This is a moral issue.”
In addition, the Steuer family provided the board with numerous photos they said were taken by a security camera, which showed large vehicles making a turn at the old bus stop location (South Benner Avenue and Moravia Street).
