A very interesting and accurate letter in today's paper about busing's effect on the Buffalo Public Schools. Judge Curtin has his feet up somewhere, probably unaware that his court decision ruined both the city and it's schools. Anyone with the means, packed their bags and fled to the suburbs. We spent millions of dollars and wasted countless hours busing the students from one neighborhood to another. What has been the result? The schools today are more segregated than ever. I was at school #37 today (Futures Academy). The school should be surrounded by bars. Lunch should be called feeding time. I'm in the process of trying to block it out of my mind, as I will never walk through those doors again.It was a complete zoo...
Busing contributed to city school demise
Much has been written recently about the failure of the Buffalo public school system. Years ago the system had a few troubled inner-city schools. Many other schools were performing at or above standards. However, it was determined that to improve all schools that we should bus students.
Parents and students that knew and understood the value of a good education were appalled. Many had sacrificed and moved to certain areas, but busing led concerned parents to remove their children from the public system and place them in private or religious-based schools. Those who could afford, moved to suburban areas. Thus, began the demise of the city school system then doomed to become a glorified free baby sitting service.
Busing is the greatest failure since prohibition. It has succeeded in helping create the child obesity epidemic and also, no doubt, helped raise the price of gasoline to over $4 a gallon. Think of the glut of gas that would be dumped into the market if all the unnecessary yellow buses were off the road, and the lines of cars stranded behind them could move more freely.
However, busing, unlike prohibition, is here to stay. The damage is done and I believe irreversibly.
John DolhonBuffalo
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