Who Rides the Bus?

According to information produced by Hoover City Schools, the percentages of likely riders indicate that a higher percentage of the 6925 likely bus riders are white.

The important statistic is about proportions, not percentages, as Leech correctly pointed out in her story in mid-September. And proportionally, black students are more likely to ride the bus.

Eliminating buses disproportionately negatively impacts black students in Hoover City Schools.

This graphic uses 2013-2014 enrollment numbers for Hoover City Schools.

Click here for an interactive version.

The Calculations

Spokesperson Jason Gaston stated that there are 6925 likely riders. Of those 6925 likely riders, 53% are White, 31% are Black. 16% fall into some other category.

That makes 3670 white riders and 2147 black riders.

The next question to be answered is “how many total students are in each racial population in the entire district?”

Then you divide the total number of riders within each racial population by the total enrollment of each racial population to determine what proportion of each racial population rides the bus.

2013-2014 enrollment numbers show that of the 13,882 students enrolled in Hoover City Schools,

• 8310 students are White,
• 3435 students are Black,
• 789 students are Hispanic,
• 919 students are Asian,
• 395 students are Multi-Racial,
• 13 students are Indians, and
• 21 students are Pacific Islanders.

Because Gaston did not provide the percentage of bus riders who are Hispanic (Hispanic is considered an ethnicity as opposed to a race), we left Hispanic students out of the table above to avoid placing students into a category incorrectly.

But, just to see what the numbers would look like if Hispanic students were a part of the “not specified” category, here is that table:

Proportions matter. Not percentages.

How Many Additional Cars Will Be Added to Hoover’s Roads?

This might help clarify how many additional cars will be added to the road during the morning and afternoon school rush. (Click the link or the picture to learn more and to share.)

Given the location of many of our schools, the traffic at these peak times will increase exponentially.

And what about when severe weather surprises us? Tornadoes? Snow?

What happens in case of an emergency? How will all of these cars move quickly?

SOURCE: Hoover City Schools’ Bus Route Information, provided via an Open Records Request and tabulated on October 16, 2013. The accepted calculation is 1 bus = 36 cars.

How Will Our Kids Get to School Next Year?

These were the answers given to parents by the Hoover Board of Education and Superintendent Andy Craig at their Regular October meeting.

Dr. Bice: Transportation Is Vital to Public Education

Here’s what State Superintendent Dr. Tommy Bice said at last Thursday’s state Board of Education work session about transportation being provided by school districts.

Video streaming by Ustream

Why do Hoover City Schools’ Superintendent and the members of the Hoover Board of Education (the four who voted to eliminate buses, that is) not see it the way Bice sees it?

25% of the students in Hoover City Schools were eligible to receive a free or reduced price lunch during the 2012-2013 school year.

There’s This Thing Called Carpool

Parents Paying for Buses – The Latest

Here is the latest information available regarding the Hoover Board of Education’s exploration into parents paying for buses.

The Hoover Board of Education met Monday, October 21. Because “public participation” was moved to the top of the agenda, the public was unable to first hear what was discussed during the board meeting before asking the Board to address their questions as has been done in the past.

Here are two parents’ questions for the Board. Superintendent Andy Craig attempted to answer their questions, but as you will hear, much is left unanswered.

With six months left before the buses stop rolling, his lack of knowledge is troubling. [Yes, the video is 10 minutes long. You really need to hear with your own ears how Superintendent Craig answers parents’ questions to understand how troubling this is.]

When Will Hoover City Schools Hit the Wall?

Superintendent Andy Craig recently gave a chilling account of how long it will be before the school system hits a critical level where money is concerned.

That was September 10, 2013.

At the October 21, 2013, Board of Education meeting, though, he suggested “a target of three to five years to reach the point of balanced revenues and expenditures within the base operating funds of the district”.

Does that mean the Superintendent and the Board of Education are driving our schools, our children, our community, into that wall? Continuing the reckless spending that has defined this Superintendent and this Board?

To date, no further cuts, other than eliminating buses for children, have been recommended.

Three More Bus Drivers Are Gone – That Makes Thirteen

Hoover Schools spokesperson Jason Gaston says a handful of bus drivers have already turned in resignation letters, but he says school leaders were prepared for this.

A handful?

Three more bus drivers’ resignations were approved at Monday’s board meeting.  Add to that

• Two at the July 29, 2013, board meeting
• Six at the August 12, 2013 board meeting
• Two at the September 10 board meeting

Do ten bus drivers equal a handful?

Plus three from Monday.

Thirteen seems like more than a handful.

And the folks they’re hiring to replace them? Of the 9 drivers that have been hired to replace them, 8 of them have zero experience (according to notations in Personnel reports). Likely they have experience driving buses, but they have not been previously employed by Hoover City Schools. One new hire had 7 years experience.

Leave of absences were approved for three bus drivers at Monday’s meeting.

That makes sixteen experienced drivers that are not driving buses anymore. Nine have been hired to replace them. At last count, Hoover City Schools ran 120 buses each day, though it is unclear if all of those buses are still running at this point.

Personnel Reports (linked below) are approved by the Hoover Board of Education at each meeting. They are emailed to those who have requested to receive them the following day. If you’d like to be added to the list to receive personnel reports, email clanzi@hoover.k12.al.us.

July 29, 2013
August 12, 2013
September 10, 2013
October 21, 2013

Who Got Raises? One Parent’s Questions for the Hoover Board of Education

Refinancing the Long-Term Debt – Was It Really a Good Idea?

Click to view the full graphic and video.

If you’d rather (as in if the link above takes too long), you can just view the video.