Members of Community Education Council 24 on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution recommending that students from the Big Six apartments in Woodside board the school bus that takes younger children to PS 229.
Big Six students in grades 3 through 6 two years ago lost a safety waiver that allowed them to take a bus the approximately 0.8 miles to the school because of the need to walk to and across a convoluted intersection on Laurel Hill Boulevard.
The street runs parallel to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, and students walking to and from the school must cross the street near an off ramp from the expressway.
Students up to grade 2 still can get the bus, which parents say is about half empty. Tuesday’s resolution by CEC 24 states that it is a safety concern, and that putting the children into empty seats on a bus already coming to the regular bus stop requires no more resources and costs the Department of Education no more money that already is being allocated.
“We were waiting for action from the DOE,” said CEC 24 President Nick Comaiani. “Now we’ve taken action.”
Comaiani said the resolution is strictly a suggestion.
“Ultimately, the decision is up to the parents,” he said. “The driver may refuse. But all he can say is ‘No.’”
Welcome to the discussion.
Or, use your linked account: