Is Dropping Off Kids at Saucon Valley Schools a Headache?

Patch reader Randy Yardumian yesterday shared a comment on the Hellertown-Lower Saucon Patch Facebook page about long waits to drop off children in the morning at the Saucon Valley School District campus.

"The line to drop off can be staggering at times," he wrote. "When the line is backed all the way up the driveway and out to the street, each little delay can add up to a big total. So why not do everything possible to ensure your kids are ready to go when you pull up to the curb?"

His question and various suggestions for ways to get kids ready to jump out the car door—to help streamline the drop-off process—sparked a lively discussion that involved many other readers, some of whom agreed that the line of cars at the schools in the morning is excessive and the unloading process, inefficient.

"The thing that holds everyone up are the parents that feel they need to get out of their car to get their kids to school," wrote Jared Grim. "It's simple. Pull up, kids hop out and I leave."

Others questioned whether too many parents are choosing to drive their children to school in the morning, rather than requiring them to take the bus or walk, depending on where they live.

"Every child should take the bus or walk unless 1) they have missed the bus, 2) they have special needs that are so extreme they can't even ride the special needs bus, 3) they normally walk, their house doesn't get bus service, and the weather is horrendous, or 4) they have to bring an object to school that is too large for them to carry on the bus," commented Rose Linden Dierolf.

"This should be the law," she said. "Driving your kids to school is a waste of gas. I'll even go so far as to say that the school should ban it except in the conditions I outlined above."

Crystal Mingora said teachers are directing traffic instead of crossing guards or police officers and wrote that "the school needs to come up with a better plan to make it easier for parent pick up and drop off."

Still others said parents should leave home earlier if they have a problem with sitting in a line of traffic while they wait to drop off or pick up their children.

Do you agree? Have you gotten impatient while stuck in traffic near the Saucon Valley schools? How do you feel about this issue? Tell us in the comments below.