GATEWAY, Fla. — An effort by parents to improve safety at a Gateway school bus stop has been blocked by the Lee County school district.
Gateway’s Community Correspondent Ella Rhoads has been hearing from parents for two months about a bus stop on Treeline Avenue that they want to move inside their neighborhood to improve safety.
Across from the stop, a memorial marks a deadly crash, which children see every morning as they gather for the bus.
“It doesn't pull over to the side of the road,” said Aarion Henderson. “There's the curb, then I have to walk over to the middle.”
Henderson graduates later this spring, but he's worried for his little brother who will take the same bus next fall.
"He's just a middle schooler. It's absolutely not safe for him,” said Henderson. “I feel like they don’t really care about our safety. You know it makes you feel like they don’t want to put the effort in to ensure that students are safe.”
Henderson’s grandmother and other parents, like India Palencia, first brought this to Fox 4’s Gateway Community Correspondent in January, as the parents petitioned the district to move the Treeline stop inside their subdivision, which had built a safe bus shelter in 2015.
PREVIOUS REPORTING BY ELLA RHOADES:
January 11: Parents petition Lee Schools to move bus stop on Treeline in Gateway
In February, the district send staff to review the bus stop, and Palencia accompanied them.
But things have not turned out in their favor.
"The same frustration I continue to feel every single time," said Palencia
A letter from Superintendent Dr. Bernier denied the petition and stated quote “there will be no further action regarding the bus stop."
Palencia and other parents are not satisfied.
“What is it? Do we have to offer up one of our children in sacrifice so that we can get the bus stop moved? That doesn't make any sense. Why are we waiting for the unimagainable tragedy to occur for us to take action. We are being [proactive],"Palencia said.
The letter from the Superintendent did outline an appeal process that the parents can use to follow up.
Parents said they plan to attend the next school board meeting on March 26.
