E-Mail From Linda Anderson – Area Superintendent

—– Original Message —–
From: Linda_Anderson@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us
To: M. Weingarten
Cc: lradloff@comcast.net ; Grant_Reppert@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Lynne_Davis@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us
Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 9:16 AM
Subject: Transportation Concerns

Dear Mr. Weingarten,

Thank you again for sharing your concerns regarding the safety of students at the bus stop in your neighborhood. Per our conversation, we will have the following practices in place in the future to ensure that students are picked up in a timely manner in the event of an emergency delay:
Should a bus be unable to pick up students due to unforeseen reasons, the bus driver will immediately contact dispatch who will in turn contact the school and the transportation supervisor.
The school will contact parents who reside within the route to communicate the delay and let them know that another bus will be routed to pick up the students.
The transportation supervisor will go to the bus route location to let students know of the delay and reassure them that another bus is enroute to pick them up.
School personnel responsible for supervision of bus arrivals at the school will contact transportation dispatch if a bus does not deliver students within the window which is allotted for bus arrivals.

We also spoke about the possibility of a parent within your neighborhood being available for monitoring the students as an added layer of support prior to the arrival of the bus each day.

I will also pass on your suggestion of including information in the student handbook regarding what parents should instruct their students to do in the event that a bus does not pick them up after an extended period of time. During our conversation, we discussed the possibility of the children within the neighborhood gathering together so they are not standing alone at their bus route area should the bus be delayed for an extended period of time.

Thank you again for taking the time to share your concerns and to discuss possible ways to make the process for picking up students each morning one which is as safe and secure as possible. Please feel free to contact me should you have any additional questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Linda Anderson
Area Superintendent

Gwinnett County Public Schools
Division of Teaching and Learning
Instructional Support Center
437 Old Peachtree Road
Suwanee, GA 30024
Phone 678-301-7290
Fax 678-301-7262

E-Mail From Linda Anderson – Area Superintendent

—– Original Message —–

From: Linda_Anderson@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us

To: M. Weingarten

Cc: lradloff@comcast.net ; Grant_Reppert@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Lynne_Davis@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us

Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 8:16 AM

Subject: Transportation Concerns

Dear Mr. Weingarten,

Thank you again for sharing your concerns regarding the safety of students at the bus stop in your neighborhood.  Per our conversation, we will have the following practices in place in the future to ensure that students are picked up in a timely manner in the event of an emergency delay:

1. Should a bus be unable to pick up students due to unforeseen reasons, the bus driver will immediately contact dispatch who will in turn contact the school and the transportation supervisor.
2. The school will contact parents who reside within the route to communicate the delay and let them know that another bus will be routed to pick up the students.
3. The transportation supervisor will go to the bus route location to let students know of the delay and reassure them that another bus is enroute to pick them up.
4. School personnel responsible for supervision of bus arrivals at the school will contact transportation dispatch if a bus does not deliver students within the window which is allotted for bus arrivals.

We also spoke about the possibility of a parent within your neighborhood being available for monitoring the students as an added layer of support prior to the arrival of the bus each day.

I will also pass on your suggestion of including information in the student handbook regarding what parents should instruct their students to do in the event that a bus does not pick them up after an extended period of time.  During our conversation, we discussed the possibility of the children within the neighborhood gathering together so they are not standing alone at their bus route area should the bus be delayed for an extended period of time.

Thank you again for taking the time to share your concerns and to discuss possible ways to make the process for picking up students each morning one which is as safe and secure as possible.  Please feel free to contact me should you have any additional questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Linda Anderson
Area Superintendent

Gwinnett County Public Schools
Division of Teaching and Learning
Instructional Support Center
437 Old Peachtree Road
Suwanee, GA 30024
Phone 678-301-7290
Fax 678-301-7262

E-Mail From Louise Radloff – Chairman, GCPS Board Of Education

—– Original Message —–
From: <lradloff@comcast.net
To: “M. Weingarten” <mweingarten@earthlink.net
Sent: Saturday, April 28, 2007 3:08 PM
Subject: Re: Missed Bus Pickup – Follow-Up

Good afternoon sir – I have been following some of the e-mails that have
been copied to me although I apparently have not received the majority
of them because of the tone of your letter you seem upset. You indicate
you have an appointment with Mr. Wilbanks. I have spoken to Mr. Jim
Steele over oversees the transportation department to ask him to look at
what occured and advise me. Our children’s safety is first and foremost.
I understand the concern of what happened to the Parkview student We
have a very good transportation system but if we need to relook at
policy and procedure we will do it. – Sincerely Louise Radloff

————– Original message ———————-
From: “M. Weingarten” <mweingarten@earthlink.net
Mr. Reppert -

We are going to clarify this issue now, or I will move forward until
this particular issue is resolved.

The information about the safety and accessability of
the other entrance at the time is questionable.

Please explain,… do you not feel that our word is sufficient?

This incident was witnessed by Gwinnett County Sheriff Deputy Glen
Simmons who lives at 5260 Fremont Ct Stone Mountain, GA 30087 which is
approximately 20 yards from the site where the children finally
assembled. Mr. Simmons was summoned outdoors due to the fact that
there
had been a 911 call to another home in the neighborhood. Deputy
Simmons
and 3 other Gwinnett County Police Department officers witnessed the
school bus situation as they discussed the 911 call in the street.
Would
their testimony suffice?

Your statement goes to the heart of one of my major concerns which is
the fact that my concerns are, without exception, dismissed or ignored
by school officials when I bring them to their attention.

The one thing we will not do is knowingly put students in
jeopardy,
either by making an unsafe
turnaround or trying to put a bus somewhere it cannot safely go. The
emphasis here is not one of meeting a time schedule but of ensuring
safety.

The county did put children at risk unnecessarily by virtue of this
decision, it has happened before and I don’t care to see it happen
again. If you can’t assure me that my concerns are being addressed by
3:30 PM today I will press forward.

—– Original Message —–
From: <Grant_Reppert@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us
To: “M. Weingarten” <mweingarten@earthlink.net
Cc: <lradloff@comcast.net
Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2007 9:39 AM
Subject: Re: Missed Bus Pickup – Follow-Up

Mr. Weingarten,

My apologies about Monday. There are no excuses. I am having some
emergency surgery this week and it has messed up my schedule.

Your email has identified a process issue we will fix. If any stop or
stops can’t be serviced due to unforseen events, we will notify the
school
immediately so they can begin the process of contacting parents
immediately.

The event you describe in your email occurs monthly somewhere within
the
county. Infrastructure maintenance, emergency events and the like
will
eliminate our ability to access certain neighborhoods. When the
restrictions are preplanned, we are able to work out modifcations and
arrangements to move stops and coordinate with parents to enable the
students to be picked up elsewhere. In most cases of emergencies,
that
is
not possible. That is one of the reasons we encourage parental
attendance
at bus stops. The children at a bus stop are not in the custody of
the
school system until the school bus arrives on scene, and it is always
advisable for at least one neighborhood parent to be available for
safety
and emergencies.

Once we identify an area as unreachable by a school bus, we continue
with
our obligation to the remaining students on the route to get them to
school. Throughout the route period we will monitor the area to see
if
access can be reestablished, and if it can, we will send a bus in to
see
if
there are any more students, as we did in this case. It is extremely
rare
in these circumstances that we pick up students on that second run
through,
as most often parents have made arrangements to transport by car.

I won’t debate the merits of turning around to access the neighborhood
from
another entrance. The information about the safety and accessability
of
the other entrance at the time is questionable. The one thing we will
not
do is knowingly put students in jeopardy, either by making an unsafe
turnaround or trying to put a bus somewhere it cannot safely go. The
emphasis here is not one of meeting a time schedule but of ensuring
safety.

“M. Weingarten”

<mweingarten@eart To:
<Grant_Reppert@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us
hlink.net cc:
<lradloff@comcast.net
Subject: Re: Missed
Bus
Pickup – Follow-Up
04/26/2007 06:53
AM
Please respond to
“M. Weingarten”

Mr. Reppert and Ms. Radloff -

I was promised answers to my questions on Monday, it is now Thursday
and
I
have no answers. If I don’t receive satisfactory answers to my
questions
by

this afternoon I will schedule a meeting with the superintendents
office
and
allow them to address my concerns and why they have been ignored thus
far.

Martin Weingarten
1646 Corinth Court
Stone Mountain, GA 30087
mweingarten@earthlink.net

—– Original Message —–
From: <Grant_Reppert@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us
To: “M. Weingarten” <mweingarten@earthlink.net
Sent: Friday, April 20, 2007 4:01 PM
Subject: Re: Missed Bus Pickup – Follow-Up

Mr. Weingarten,

I appreciate your note. I am doing some additional investigation,
and
will
be able to give you some specific answers on Monday.

“M. Weingarten”
<mweingarten@eart To:
<Sandra_Holloway@gwinnett.k12.ga.us,
<Debbie_Moore@gwinnett.k12.ga.us,
hlink.net
<Martha_Stephens@gwinnett.k12.ga.us,
<Phillip_Curtis@gwinnett.k12.ga.us,

<Lynne_Davis@gwinnett.k12.ga.us, <Peggy_ONeill@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
04/20/2007 07:54 cc:
<lradloff@comcast.net, <Ronni_Ford@gwinnett.k12.ga.us,
AM
<Grant_Reppert@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
Please respond to Subject: Re: Missed
Bus
Pickup – Follow-Up
“M. Weingarten”

To: Martha Stephens, Peggy O’Neill, Debbie Moore, Sandra Holloway,
Lynne
Davis, Phillip Curtis
Cc: Louise Radloff, Ronni Ford, Grant Reppert

Re: Follow-up – Gwinnett County School Bus Missing Pickup Of Corinth
Hills
Subdivision On The Morning Of Wednesday, April 18, 2007

I believe that a serious error in judgment was made with regards to
the
bus
incident that is addressed in detail below in my original message. I
believe that Gwinnett County is extremely fortunate that no harm
came
to
the children in their charge as they remained stranded for over an
hour,
and unnecessarily so. As stated in my original message below, all
the
driver had to do was turn around after her next pickup, travel the
half
mile back and pick up our kids, but the powers that be felt that
getting
the rest of the route to TMS on schedule trumped the safety and
well-being
of our children. In my mind there is absolutely no, and I mean no
excuse
for leaving 12, 13 and 14 year old children unattended for an
extended
period of time, in the street, without a plan of action in order to
get
another neighborhood’s children to school on schedule. Someone
please
explain to me in writing how it is that Gwinnett County believes
that
this
thought process is valid.

Being that this is not the first such incident of a Gwinnett County
School
System bus leaving our neighborhood children stranded for periods of
time
of over an hour and having subsequent correspondence from me ignored
by
the
school officials that I addressed, I am sending copies of this
correspondence via USPS Certified Mail to Louise Radloff, Ronni Ford
and
Grant Reppert. Should a similar incident occur again in the future
with
the
outcome not being as fortunate to Gwinnett County as this incident,
copies
of these documents will be made available to the appropriate
authorities,
attorneys and members of the media. USPS Certified Mail receipts
will
provide evidence of possession. I believe that this flawed decision
making
process is a disaster waiting to happen and will eventually lead to
a
child
or children being injured by being left unattended for long periods
of
time.

The location of this incident yesterday morning is a quarter mile
from
the
location where less than a month ago a Parkview High student
returned
home
from school only to be viciously attacked, bound and raped. This
incident
was extensively reported on by all local media outlets. Here is a
link
to
the Gwinnett County Police Department website regarding the assault:

http://www.co.gwinnett.ga.us/cgi-bin/gwincty/egov/ep/gcbrowse.do?channel

Id=-33941&channelPage=/ep/channel/default.jsp&pageTypeId=536880236

The decisions and actions of Gwinnett County Schools regarding this
incident and the subsequent disregard of concern is reprehensible at
best.

From what I understand, the last time this bus driver refused to
turn
into
our neighborhood and pickup our children was due to the fact that
Gwinnett
County DOT had placed a traffic monitor across the road and she
believed
that these monitor wires were electrical wires. This incident left
our
children stranded and unattended for a period of around an hour and
a
half
and upon their eventual arrival at school led to the sequestering of
these
stranded students as I referenced in my original message below.
While
not
positive, we believe that the timeframe for this event was last
October
while the ITBS testing was being conducted. School login records
should
bear this out although my son tells me that it is his recollection
that a
TMS staff member signed in for them. Is it appropriate for a staff
member
to sign-in for a student?

It has also since come to my attention that the same bus driver
involved
in
this incident was recently reprimanded by TMS staff for leaving
these
very
same neighborhood children stranded at TMS one afternoon. I can only
imagine the reason that this driver was addressed for this
particular
incident was due to the fact that it occurred on school property
leaving
TMS staff directly responsible for the issue. This reprimand was for
an
incident 15 minutes in duration and while the children were still
under
the
supervision of TMS staff. We have multiple incidents where children
were
left completely unattended for much longer periods of time.

Unfortunately, as stated, there is a disturbing history with regards
to
this issue and I want to raise my own red flags and document the
issue
at
hand. I have no desire to debate this issue by phone or verbally in
any
form in order to avoid any “selective memory” issues that might
arise.
I
would however be more than happy to receive any explanation that the
county
might have to offer in writing.

I want to also address what appears to be a lack of planning by
Gwinnett
County School Systems in the event that a bus is unable to pickup
children
at the scheduled time. We live in a relatively small neighborhood
with
only
three stops. If a bus does not arrive on time our children have no
idea
as
to what they should do. Fortunately, I was home and available to
assist
on
this occasion, but upon making my way to my son’s stop found the bus
rider
kids milling around the neighborhood aimlessly. I believe that there
should
be a plan in place in the event that a bus is later than a
designated
period of time – say 15 minutes. The kids should be advised to rally
and
consolidate at a predetermined location. The kids and the bus
drivers
should have this location marked on the bus route map to avoid
confusion.
There is strength in numbers and this would add an additional layer
of
security.

Regards -

Martin Weingarten
1646 Corinth Court
Stone Mountain, GA 30087
mweingarten@earthlink.net

cc (via USPS Certified Mail): Louise Radloff, Ronni Ford, Grant
Reppert
xc: esq.

—– Original Message —–
From: M. Weingarten
To: Lynne_Davis@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ;
Phillip_Curtis@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
;
Martha_Stephens@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Peggy_ONeill@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
;
Debbie_Moore@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Sandra_Holloway@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2007 12:40 PM
Subject: Missed Bus Pickup

To:
Martha Stephens
Peggy O’Neill
Debbie Moore
Sandra Holloway
Lynne Davis
Phillip Curtis

Re: Gwinnett County School Bus Missing Pickup Of Corinth Hills
Subdivision
On The Morning Of Wednesday, April 18, 2007

All -

First, thanks to Ms. Davis and Mr. Curtis for meeting with me this
morning
on such short notice to allow me to address my concerns and for
assisting
in resolving the issue of getting my son into class for testing.
Thanks
also for providing an appropriate county contact for me to
address…
but,
I would like to take exception with one statement Ms. Davis made
having
had the opportunity to reflect upon it for awhile. Whereas I can
appreciate Ms. Davis’ assertion that the county “owns the process of
transportation” and that the process is “out of her hands”,
ultimately
she
is responsible for those students enrolled at her school and am a
bit
disappointed that she didn’t feel compelled to seek a response that
would
at least attempt to satisfy the situation at hand and remedy same
for
any
similar future event.

The situation as I understand it:
Ms. Schwartz, the bus driver, arrived at our neighborhood on
schedule
to
find that one entrance was blocked by a Gwinnett County utility
crew.
The
driver opted not to enter our neighborhood, but to continue on with
the
rest of her route. This decision left 9 children in 6th, 7th and 8th
grade
abandoned without explanation and for a period of over an hour.

There is another entrance to our subdivision less than 1/8 of a mile
from
the entrance that was blocked. This other entrance was completely
clear
and on the same side of the road. Our subdivision has several
cul-de-sacs
that would allow for the driver to turn around. Having lived on one
of
these cul-de-sacs for 18 years and having multiple county school bus
drivers living in the neighborhood, I have personally witnessed
full-sized
county school buses make these turnarounds on many occasions.

Had the driver turned around after making her next pickups and
returned
to
pick up our children, the entire bus may have been five to ten
minutes
later than normal at arrival to TMS. Instead a group of students
made
it
on time while 9 others were left stranded and unattended. Was this a
wise
decision and is it acceptable?

1. I would like an explanation as to the decision making process
that
occurred this morning.

2. I would like to know if this decision was a sound one and
acceptable
to
all of those responsible for the safety of our children.

3. I would like to know what the decision would be should the same
situation present itself again in the future. This very same issue
has
occurred before with the exception that I was unable to intervene on
my
son’s behalf and subsequently he was penalized for the rest of the
day,
along with the other stranded bus riders, by having to spend the
remainder
of the day sequestered from the rest of their classmates due to
standardized testing that was taking place.

Regards -

Martin Weingarten
1646 Corinth Court
Stone Mountain, GA 30087
mweingarten@earthlink.net

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E-Mail From Grant Reppert – Director Of Transportation

—– Original Message —–
From: <Grant_Reppert@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us
To: “M. Weingarten” <mweingarten@earthlink.net
Cc: <lradloff@comcast.net
Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2007 11:05 AM
Subject: Re: Missed Bus Pickup – Follow-Up

Sir,

It is certainly your perogative to pursue other remedies. No one has
questioned or distrusted your words. The facts you related are not
questioned.

It is that 911 call going on that brought into question the use of
another
entrance at that time.

“M. Weingarten”
<mweingarten@eart To:
<Grant_Reppert@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us
hlink.net cc:
<lradloff@comcast.net
Subject: Re: Missed Bus
Pickup – Follow-Up
04/26/2007 10:36
AM
Please respond to
“M. Weingarten”

Don’t bother replying,… I’ve scheduled an appointment with the
superintendent and I’ll let them explain to me why my word can’t be
trusted and why it would appear that the safety of our neighborhood’s
children continue to be a concern.

—– Original Message —–
From: “M. Weingarten” <mweingarten@earthlink.net
To: <Grant_Reppert@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us
Cc: <lradloff@comcast.net
Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2007 10:11 AM
Subject: Re: Missed Bus Pickup – Follow-Up

Mr. Reppert -

We are going to clarify this issue now, or I will move forward until
this particular issue is resolved.

The information about the safety and accessability of
the other entrance at the time is questionable.

Please explain,… do you not feel that our word is sufficient?

This incident was witnessed by Gwinnett County Sheriff Deputy Glen
Simmons who lives at 5260 Fremont Ct Stone Mountain, GA 30087 which is
approximately 20 yards from the site where the children finally
assembled. Mr. Simmons was summoned outdoors due to the fact that there
had been a 911 call to another home in the neighborhood. Deputy Simmons
and 3 other Gwinnett County Police Department officers witnessed the
school bus situation as they discussed the 911 call in the street. Would
their testimony suffice?

Your statement goes to the heart of one of my major concerns which is
the fact that my concerns are, without exception, dismissed or ignored
by school officials when I bring them to their attention.

The one thing we will not do is knowingly put students in jeopardy,
either by making an unsafe
turnaround or trying to put a bus somewhere it cannot safely go. The
emphasis here is not one of meeting a time schedule but of ensuring
safety.

The county did put children at risk unnecessarily by virtue of this
decision, it has happened before and I don’t care to see it happen
again. If you can’t assure me that my concerns are being addressed by
3:30 PM today I will press forward.

—– Original Message —–
From: <Grant_Reppert@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us
To: “M. Weingarten” <mweingarten@earthlink.net
Cc: <lradloff@comcast.net
Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2007 9:39 AM
Subject: Re: Missed Bus Pickup – Follow-Up

Mr. Weingarten,

My apologies about Monday. There are no excuses. I am having some
emergency surgery this week and it has messed up my schedule.

Your email has identified a process issue we will fix. If any stop or
stops can’t be serviced due to unforseen events, we will notify the
school
immediately so they can begin the process of contacting parents
immediately.

The event you describe in your email occurs monthly somewhere within the
county. Infrastructure maintenance, emergency events and the like will
eliminate our ability to access certain neighborhoods. When the
restrictions are preplanned, we are able to work out modifcations and
arrangements to move stops and coordinate with parents to enable the
students to be picked up elsewhere. In most cases of emergencies, that
is
not possible. That is one of the reasons we encourage parental
attendance
at bus stops. The children at a bus stop are not in the custody of the
school system until the school bus arrives on scene, and it is always
advisable for at least one neighborhood parent to be available for
safety
and emergencies.

Once we identify an area as unreachable by a school bus, we continue
with
our obligation to the remaining students on the route to get them to
school. Throughout the route period we will monitor the area to see if
access can be reestablished, and if it can, we will send a bus in to see
if
there are any more students, as we did in this case. It is extremely
rare
in these circumstances that we pick up students on that second run
through,
as most often parents have made arrangements to transport by car.

I won’t debate the merits of turning around to access the neighborhood
from
another entrance. The information about the safety and accessability of
the other entrance at the time is questionable. The one thing we will
not
do is knowingly put students in jeopardy, either by making an unsafe
turnaround or trying to put a bus somewhere it cannot safely go. The
emphasis here is not one of meeting a time schedule but of ensuring
safety.

“M. Weingarten”

<mweingarten@eart To:
<Grant_Reppert@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us
hlink.net cc:
<lradloff@comcast.net
Subject: Re: Missed Bus
Pickup – Follow-Up
04/26/2007 06:53
AM
Please respond to
“M. Weingarten”

Mr. Reppert and Ms. Radloff -

I was promised answers to my questions on Monday, it is now Thursday and
I
have no answers. If I don’t receive satisfactory answers to my questions
by

this afternoon I will schedule a meeting with the superintendents office
and
allow them to address my concerns and why they have been ignored thus
far.

Martin Weingarten
1646 Corinth Court
Stone Mountain, GA 30087
mweingarten@earthlink.net

—– Original Message —–
From: <Grant_Reppert@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us
To: “M. Weingarten” <mweingarten@earthlink.net
Sent: Friday, April 20, 2007 4:01 PM
Subject: Re: Missed Bus Pickup – Follow-Up

Mr. Weingarten,

I appreciate your note. I am doing some additional investigation, and
will
be able to give you some specific answers on Monday.

“M. Weingarten”
<mweingarten@eart To:
<Sandra_Holloway@gwinnett.k12.ga.us,
<Debbie_Moore@gwinnett.k12.ga.us,
hlink.net
<Martha_Stephens@gwinnett.k12.ga.us,
<Phillip_Curtis@gwinnett.k12.ga.us,

<Lynne_Davis@gwinnett.k12.ga.us, <Peggy_ONeill@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
04/20/2007 07:54 cc:
<lradloff@comcast.net, <Ronni_Ford@gwinnett.k12.ga.us,
AM
<Grant_Reppert@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
Please respond to Subject: Re: Missed Bus
Pickup – Follow-Up
“M. Weingarten”

To: Martha Stephens, Peggy O’Neill, Debbie Moore, Sandra Holloway,
Lynne
Davis, Phillip Curtis
Cc: Louise Radloff, Ronni Ford, Grant Reppert

Re: Follow-up – Gwinnett County School Bus Missing Pickup Of Corinth
Hills
Subdivision On The Morning Of Wednesday, April 18, 2007

I believe that a serious error in judgment was made with regards to
the
bus
incident that is addressed in detail below in my original message. I
believe that Gwinnett County is extremely fortunate that no harm came
to
the children in their charge as they remained stranded for over an
hour,
and unnecessarily so. As stated in my original message below, all the
driver had to do was turn around after her next pickup, travel the
half
mile back and pick up our kids, but the powers that be felt that
getting
the rest of the route to TMS on schedule trumped the safety and
well-being
of our children. In my mind there is absolutely no, and I mean no
excuse
for leaving 12, 13 and 14 year old children unattended for an extended
period of time, in the street, without a plan of action in order to
get
another neighborhood’s children to school on schedule. Someone please
explain to me in writing how it is that Gwinnett County believes that
this
thought process is valid.

Being that this is not the first such incident of a Gwinnett County
School
System bus leaving our neighborhood children stranded for periods of
time
of over an hour and having subsequent correspondence from me ignored
by
the
school officials that I addressed, I am sending copies of this
correspondence via USPS Certified Mail to Louise Radloff, Ronni Ford
and
Grant Reppert. Should a similar incident occur again in the future
with
the
outcome not being as fortunate to Gwinnett County as this incident,
copies
of these documents will be made available to the appropriate
authorities,
attorneys and members of the media. USPS Certified Mail receipts will
provide evidence of possession. I believe that this flawed decision
making
process is a disaster waiting to happen and will eventually lead to a
child
or children being injured by being left unattended for long periods of
time.

The location of this incident yesterday morning is a quarter mile from
the
location where less than a month ago a Parkview High student returned
home
from school only to be viciously attacked, bound and raped. This
incident
was extensively reported on by all local media outlets. Here is a link
to
the Gwinnett County Police Department website regarding the assault:

http://www.co.gwinnett.ga.us/cgi-bin/gwincty/egov/ep/gcbrowse.do?channel

Id=-33941&channelPage=/ep/channel/default.jsp&pageTypeId=536880236

The decisions and actions of Gwinnett County Schools regarding this
incident and the subsequent disregard of concern is reprehensible at
best.

From what I understand, the last time this bus driver refused to turn
into
our neighborhood and pickup our children was due to the fact that
Gwinnett
County DOT had placed a traffic monitor across the road and she
believed
that these monitor wires were electrical wires. This incident left our
children stranded and unattended for a period of around an hour and a
half
and upon their eventual arrival at school led to the sequestering of
these
stranded students as I referenced in my original message below. While
not
positive, we believe that the timeframe for this event was last
October
while the ITBS testing was being conducted. School login records
should
bear this out although my son tells me that it is his recollection
that a
TMS staff member signed in for them. Is it appropriate for a staff
member
to sign-in for a student?

It has also since come to my attention that the same bus driver
involved
in
this incident was recently reprimanded by TMS staff for leaving these
very
same neighborhood children stranded at TMS one afternoon. I can only
imagine the reason that this driver was addressed for this particular
incident was due to the fact that it occurred on school property
leaving
TMS staff directly responsible for the issue. This reprimand was for
an
incident 15 minutes in duration and while the children were still
under
the
supervision of TMS staff. We have multiple incidents where children
were
left completely unattended for much longer periods of time.

Unfortunately, as stated, there is a disturbing history with regards
to
this issue and I want to raise my own red flags and document the issue
at
hand. I have no desire to debate this issue by phone or verbally in
any
form in order to avoid any “selective memory” issues that might arise.
I
would however be more than happy to receive any explanation that the
county
might have to offer in writing.

I want to also address what appears to be a lack of planning by
Gwinnett
County School Systems in the event that a bus is unable to pickup
children
at the scheduled time. We live in a relatively small neighborhood with
only
three stops. If a bus does not arrive on time our children have no
idea
as
to what they should do. Fortunately, I was home and available to
assist
on
this occasion, but upon making my way to my son’s stop found the bus
rider
kids milling around the neighborhood aimlessly. I believe that there
should
be a plan in place in the event that a bus is later than a designated
period of time – say 15 minutes. The kids should be advised to rally
and
consolidate at a predetermined location. The kids and the bus drivers
should have this location marked on the bus route map to avoid
confusion.
There is strength in numbers and this would add an additional layer of
security.

Regards -

Martin Weingarten
1646 Corinth Court
Stone Mountain, GA 30087
mweingarten@earthlink.net

cc (via USPS Certified Mail): Louise Radloff, Ronni Ford, Grant
Reppert
xc: esq.

—– Original Message —–
From: M. Weingarten
To: Lynne_Davis@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Phillip_Curtis@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
;
Martha_Stephens@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Peggy_ONeill@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ;
Debbie_Moore@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Sandra_Holloway@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2007 12:40 PM
Subject: Missed Bus Pickup

To:
Martha Stephens
Peggy O’Neill
Debbie Moore
Sandra Holloway
Lynne Davis
Phillip Curtis

Re: Gwinnett County School Bus Missing Pickup Of Corinth Hills
Subdivision
On The Morning Of Wednesday, April 18, 2007

All -

First, thanks to Ms. Davis and Mr. Curtis for meeting with me this
morning
on such short notice to allow me to address my concerns and for
assisting
in resolving the issue of getting my son into class for testing.
Thanks
also for providing an appropriate county contact for me to address…
but,
I would like to take exception with one statement Ms. Davis made
having
had the opportunity to reflect upon it for awhile. Whereas I can
appreciate Ms. Davis’ assertion that the county “owns the process of
transportation” and that the process is “out of her hands”, ultimately
she
is responsible for those students enrolled at her school and am a bit
disappointed that she didn’t feel compelled to seek a response that
would
at least attempt to satisfy the situation at hand and remedy same for
any
similar future event.

The situation as I understand it:
Ms. Schwartz, the bus driver, arrived at our neighborhood on schedule
to
find that one entrance was blocked by a Gwinnett County utility crew.
The
driver opted not to enter our neighborhood, but to continue on with
the
rest of her route. This decision left 9 children in 6th, 7th and 8th
grade
abandoned without explanation and for a period of over an hour.

There is another entrance to our subdivision less than 1/8 of a mile
from
the entrance that was blocked. This other entrance was completely
clear
and on the same side of the road. Our subdivision has several
cul-de-sacs
that would allow for the driver to turn around. Having lived on one of
these cul-de-sacs for 18 years and having multiple county school bus
drivers living in the neighborhood, I have personally witnessed
full-sized
county school buses make these turnarounds on many occasions.

Had the driver turned around after making her next pickups and
returned
to
pick up our children, the entire bus may have been five to ten minutes
later than normal at arrival to TMS. Instead a group of students made
it
on time while 9 others were left stranded and unattended. Was this a
wise
decision and is it acceptable?

1. I would like an explanation as to the decision making process that
occurred this morning.

2. I would like to know if this decision was a sound one and
acceptable
to
all of those responsible for the safety of our children.

3. I would like to know what the decision would be should the same
situation present itself again in the future. This very same issue has
occurred before with the exception that I was unable to intervene on
my
son’s behalf and subsequently he was penalized for the rest of the
day,
along with the other stranded bus riders, by having to spend the
remainder
of the day sequestered from the rest of their classmates due to
standardized testing that was taking place.

Regards -

Martin Weingarten
1646 Corinth Court
Stone Mountain, GA 30087
mweingarten@earthlink.net

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E-Mail From Louise Radloff – Chairman, GCPS Board Of Education

—– Original Message —–
From: <lradloff@comcast.net
To: “M. Weingarten” <mweingarten@earthlink.net
Sent: Friday, April 20, 2007 3:40 PM
Subject: Re: Missed Bus Pickup – Follow-Up

Thank-you for sharing your experience with one of our buses. I apoligize
for any concern it caused parents re safety. The safety of our students
is aq critical concern. I will speak with transportation director and
Mr. James Steele. Again I appreciate you contacting me – Louise Radloff

————– Original message ———————-
From: “M. Weingarten” <mweingarten@earthlink.net
To: Martha Stephens, Peggy O’Neill, Debbie Moore, Sandra Holloway,
Lynne Davis,
Phillip Curtis
Cc: Louise Radloff, Ronni Ford, Grant Reppert

Re: Follow-up – Gwinnett County School Bus Missing Pickup Of Corinth
Hills
Subdivision On The Morning Of Wednesday, April 18, 2007

I believe that a serious error in judgment was made with regards to
the bus
incident that is addressed in detail below in my original message. I
believe
that Gwinnett County is extremely fortunate that no harm came to the
children in
their charge as they remained stranded for over an hour, and
unnecessarily so.
As stated in my original message below, all the driver had to do was
turn around
after her next pickup, travel the half mile back and pick up our kids,
but the
powers that be felt that getting the rest of the route to TMS on
schedule
trumped the safety and well-being of our children. In my mind there is
absolutely no, and I mean no excuse for leaving 12, 13 and 14 year old
children
unattended for an extended period of time, in the street, without a
plan of
action in order to get another neighborhood’s children to school on
schedule.
Someone please explain to me in writing how it is that Gwinnett County
believes
that this thought process is valid.

Being that this is not the first such incident of a Gwinnett County
School
System bus leaving our neighborhood children stranded for periods of
time of
over an hour and having subsequent correspondence from me ignored by
the school
officials that I addressed, I am sending copies of this correspondence
via USPS
Certified Mail to Louise Radloff, Ronni Ford and Grant Reppert. Should
a similar
incident occur again in the future with the outcome not being as
fortunate to
Gwinnett County as this incident, copies of these documents will be
made
available to the appropriate authorities, attorneys and members of the
media.
USPS Certified Mail receipts will provide evidence of possession. I
believe that
this flawed decision making process is a disaster waiting to happen
and will
eventually lead to a child or children being injured by being left
unattended
for long periods of time.

The location of this incident yesterday morning is a quarter mile from
the
location where less than a month ago a Parkview High student returned
home from
school only to be viciously attacked, bound and raped. This incident
was
extensively reported on by all local media outlets. Here is a link to
the
Gwinnett County Police Department website regarding the assault:

http://www.co.gwinnett.ga.us/cgi-bin/gwincty/egov/ep/gcbrowse.do?channel

Id=-3394
1&channelPage=/ep/channel/default.jsp&pageTypeId=536880236

The decisions and actions of Gwinnett County Schools regarding this
incident and
the subsequent disregard of concern is reprehensible at best.

From what I understand, the last time this bus driver refused to turn
into our
neighborhood and pickup our children was due to the fact that Gwinnett
County
DOT had placed a traffic monitor across the road and she believed that
these
monitor wires were electrical wires. This incident left our children
stranded
and unattended for a period of around an hour and a half and upon
their eventual
arrival at school led to the sequestering of these stranded students
as I
referenced in my original message below. While not positive, we
believe that the
timeframe for this event was last October while the ITBS testing was
being
conducted. School login records should bear this out although my son
tells me
that it is his recollection that a TMS staff member signed in for
them. Is it
appropriate for a staff member to sign-in for a student?

It has also since come to my attention that the same bus driver
involved in this
incident was recently reprimanded by TMS staff for leaving these very
same
neighborhood children stranded at TMS one afternoon. I can only
imagine the
reason that this driver was addressed for this particular incident was
due to
the fact that it occurred on school property leaving TMS staff
directly
responsible for the issue. This reprimand was for an incident 15
minutes in
duration and while the children were still under the supervision of
TMS staff.
We have multiple incidents where children were left completely
unattended for
much longer periods of time.

Unfortunately, as stated, there is a disturbing history with regards
to this
issue and I want to raise my own red flags and document the issue at
hand. I
have no desire to debate this issue by phone or verbally in any form
in order to
avoid any “selective memory” issues that might arise. I would however
be more
than happy to receive any explanation that the county might have to
offer in
writing.

I want to also address what appears to be a lack of planning by
Gwinnett County
School Systems in the event that a bus is unable to pickup children at
the
scheduled time. We live in a relatively small neighborhood with only
three
stops. If a bus does not arrive on time our children have no idea as
to what
they should do. Fortunately, I was home and available to assist on
this
occasion, but upon making my way to my son’s stop found the bus rider
kids
milling around the neighborhood aimlessly. I believe that there should
be a plan
in place in the event that a bus is later than a designated period of
time – say
15 minutes. The kids should be advised to rally and consolidate at a
predetermined location. The kids and the bus drivers should have this
location
marked on the bus route map to avoid confusion. There is strength in
numbers and
this would add an additional layer of security.

Regards -

Martin Weingarten
1646 Corinth Court
Stone Mountain, GA  30087
mweingarten@earthlink.net

cc (via USPS Certified Mail): Louise Radloff, Ronni Ford, Grant
Reppert
xc: esq.

—– Original Message —–
From: M. Weingarten
To: Lynne_Davis@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ;
Phillip_Curtis@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ;
Martha_Stephens@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Peggy_ONeill@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ;
Debbie_Moore@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Sandra_Holloway@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2007 12:40 PM
Subject: Missed Bus Pickup

To:
Martha Stephens
Peggy O’Neill
Debbie Moore
Sandra Holloway
Lynne Davis
Phillip Curtis

Re: Gwinnett County School Bus Missing Pickup Of Corinth Hills
Subdivision On
The Morning Of Wednesday, April 18, 2007

All -

First, thanks to Ms. Davis and Mr. Curtis for meeting with me this
morning on
such short notice to allow me to address my concerns and for assisting
in
resolving the issue of getting my son into class for testing. Thanks
also for
providing an appropriate county contact for me to address… but, I
would like
to take exception with one statement Ms. Davis made having had the
opportunity
to reflect upon it for awhile. Whereas I can appreciate Ms. Davis’
assertion
that the county “owns the process of transportation” and that the
process is
“out of her hands”, ultimately she is responsible for those students
enrolled at
her school and am a bit disappointed that she didn’t feel compelled to
seek a
response that would at least attempt to satisfy the situation at hand
and remedy
same for any similar future event.

The situation as I understand it:
Ms. Schwartz, the bus driver, arrived at our neighborhood on
schedule to find
that one entrance was blocked by a Gwinnett County utility crew. The
driver
opted not to enter our neighborhood, but to continue on with the rest
of her
route. This decision left 9 children in 6th, 7th and 8th grade
abandoned without
explanation and for a period of over an hour.

There is another entrance to our subdivision less than 1/8 of a mile
from the
entrance that was blocked. This other entrance was completely clear
and on the
same side of the road. Our subdivision has several cul-de-sacs that
would allow
for the driver to turn around. Having lived on one of these
cul-de-sacs for 18
years and having multiple county school bus drivers living in the
neighborhood,
I have personally witnessed full-sized county school buses make these
turnarounds on many occasions.

Had the driver turned around after making her next pickups and
returned to
pick up our children, the entire bus may have been five to ten minutes
later
than normal at arrival to TMS. Instead a group of students made it on
time while
9 others were left stranded and unattended. Was this a wise decision
and is it
acceptable?

1. I would like an explanation as to the decision making process
that occurred
this morning.

2. I would like to know if this decision was a sound one and
acceptable to all
of those responsible for the safety of our children.

3. I would like to know what the decision would be should the same
situation
present itself again in the future. This very same issue has occurred
before
with the exception that I was unable to intervene on my son’s behalf
and
subsequently he was penalized for the rest of the day, along with the
other
stranded bus riders, by having to spend the remainder of the day
sequestered
from the rest of their classmates due to standardized testing that was
taking
place.

Regards -

Martin Weingarten
1646 Corinth Court
Stone Mountain, GA  30087
mweingarten@earthlink.net

—
avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean.
Virus Database (VPS): 000734-3, 04/19/2007
Tested on: 4/20/2007 7:55:11 AM
avast! – copyright (c) 1988-2007 ALWIL Software.

http://www.avast.com

E-Mail From Grant Reppert – Director Of Transportation

—– Original Message —–
From: <Grant_Reppert@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us>
To: “M. Weingarten” <mweingarten@earthlink.net>
Sent: Friday, April 20, 2007 3:01 PM
Subject: Re: Missed Bus Pickup – Follow-Up

Mr. Weingarten,

I appreciate your note.  I am doing some additional investigation, and
will
be able to give you some specific answers on Monday.

“M. Weingarten”
<mweingarten@eart        To:
<Sandra_Holloway@gwinnett.k12.ga.us>, <Debbie_Moore@gwinnett.k12.ga.us>,
hlink.net>
<Martha_Stephens@gwinnett.k12.ga.us>,
<Phillip_Curtis@gwinnett.k12.ga.us>,

<Lynne_Davis@gwinnett.k12.ga.us>, <Peggy_ONeill@gwinnett.k12.ga.us>
04/20/2007 07:54         cc:
<lradloff@comcast.net>, <Ronni_Ford@gwinnett.k12.ga.us>,
AM
<Grant_Reppert@gwinnett.k12.ga.us>
Please respond to        Subject:  Re: Missed Bus
Pickup – Follow-Up
“M. Weingarten”

To: Martha Stephens, Peggy O’Neill, Debbie Moore, Sandra Holloway, Lynne
Davis, Phillip Curtis
Cc: Louise Radloff, Ronni Ford, Grant Reppert

Re: Follow-up – Gwinnett County School Bus Missing Pickup Of Corinth
Hills
Subdivision On The Morning Of Wednesday, April 18, 2007

I believe that a serious error in judgment was made with regards to the
bus
incident that is addressed in detail below in my original message. I
believe that Gwinnett County is extremely fortunate that no harm came to
the children in their charge as they remained stranded for over an hour,
and unnecessarily so. As stated in my original message below, all the
driver had to do was turn around after her next pickup, travel the half
mile back and pick up our kids, but the powers that be felt that getting
the rest of the route to TMS on schedule trumped the safety and
well-being
of our children. In my mind there is absolutely no, and I mean no excuse
for leaving 12, 13 and 14 year old children unattended for an extended
period of time, in the street, without a plan of action in order to get
another neighborhood’s children to school on schedule. Someone please
explain to me in writing how it is that Gwinnett County believes that
this
thought process is valid.

Being that this is not the first such incident of a Gwinnett County
School
System bus leaving our neighborhood children stranded for periods of
time
of over an hour and having subsequent correspondence from me ignored by
the
school officials that I addressed, I am sending copies of this
correspondence via USPS Certified Mail to Louise Radloff, Ronni Ford and
Grant Reppert. Should a similar incident occur again in the future with
the
outcome not being as fortunate to Gwinnett County as this incident,
copies
of these documents will be made available to the appropriate
authorities,
attorneys and members of the media. USPS Certified Mail receipts will
provide evidence of possession. I believe that this flawed decision
making
process is a disaster waiting to happen and will eventually lead to a
child
or children being injured by being left unattended for long periods of
time.

The location of this incident yesterday morning is a quarter mile from
the
location where less than a month ago a Parkview High student returned
home
from school only to be viciously attacked, bound and raped. This
incident
was extensively reported on by all local media outlets. Here is a link
to
the Gwinnett County Police Department website regarding the assault:

http://www.co.gwinnett.ga.us/cgi-bin/gwincty/egov/ep/gcbrowse.do?channel

Id=-33941&channelPage=/ep/channel/default.jsp&pageTypeId=536880236

The decisions and actions of Gwinnett County Schools regarding this
incident and the subsequent disregard of concern is reprehensible at
best.

From what I understand, the last time this bus driver refused to turn
into
our neighborhood and pickup our children was due to the fact that
Gwinnett
County DOT had placed a traffic monitor across the road and she believed
that these monitor wires were electrical wires. This incident left our
children stranded and unattended for a period of around an hour and a
half
and upon their eventual arrival at school led to the sequestering of
these
stranded students as I referenced in my original message below. While
not
positive, we believe that the timeframe for this event was last October
while the ITBS testing was being conducted. School login records should
bear this out although my son tells me that it is his recollection that
a
TMS staff member signed in for them. Is it appropriate for a staff
member
to sign-in for a student?

It has also since come to my attention that the same bus driver involved
in
this incident was recently reprimanded by TMS staff for leaving these
very
same neighborhood children stranded at TMS one afternoon. I can only
imagine the reason that this driver was addressed for this particular
incident was due to the fact that it occurred on school property leaving
TMS staff directly responsible for the issue. This reprimand was for an
incident 15 minutes in duration and while the children were still under
the
supervision of TMS staff. We have multiple incidents where children were
left completely unattended for much longer periods of time.

Unfortunately, as stated, there is a disturbing history with regards to
this issue and I want to raise my own red flags and document the issue
at
hand. I have no desire to debate this issue by phone or verbally in any
form in order to avoid any “selective memory” issues that might arise. I
would however be more than happy to receive any explanation that the
county
might have to offer in writing.

I want to also address what appears to be a lack of planning by Gwinnett
County School Systems in the event that a bus is unable to pickup
children
at the scheduled time. We live in a relatively small neighborhood with
only
three stops. If a bus does not arrive on time our children have no idea
as
to what they should do. Fortunately, I was home and available to assist
on
this occasion, but upon making my way to my son’s stop found the bus
rider
kids milling around the neighborhood aimlessly. I believe that there
should
be a plan in place in the event that a bus is later than a designated
period of time – say 15 minutes. The kids should be advised to rally and
consolidate at a predetermined location. The kids and the bus drivers
should have this location marked on the bus route map to avoid
confusion.
There is strength in numbers and this would add an additional layer of
security.

Regards -

Martin Weingarten
1646 Corinth Court
Stone Mountain, GA  30087
mweingarten@earthlink.net

cc (via USPS Certified Mail): Louise Radloff, Ronni Ford, Grant Reppert
xc: esq.

—– Original Message —–
From: M. Weingarten
To: Lynne_Davis@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Phillip_Curtis@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
;
Martha_Stephens@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Peggy_ONeill@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ;
Debbie_Moore@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Sandra_Holloway@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2007 12:40 PM
Subject: Missed Bus Pickup

To:
Martha Stephens
Peggy O’Neill
Debbie Moore
Sandra Holloway
Lynne Davis
Phillip Curtis

Re: Gwinnett County School Bus Missing Pickup Of Corinth Hills
Subdivision
On The Morning Of Wednesday, April 18, 2007

All -

First, thanks to Ms. Davis and Mr. Curtis for meeting with me this
morning
on such short notice to allow me to address my concerns and for
assisting
in resolving the issue of getting my son into class for testing. Thanks
also for providing an appropriate county contact for me to address…
but,
I would like to take exception with one statement Ms. Davis made having
had the opportunity to reflect upon it for awhile. Whereas I can
appreciate Ms. Davis’ assertion that the county “owns the process of
transportation” and that the process is “out of her hands”, ultimately
she
is responsible for those students enrolled at her school and am a bit
disappointed that she didn’t feel compelled to seek a response that
would
at least attempt to satisfy the situation at hand and remedy same for
any
similar future event.

The situation as I understand it:
Ms. Schwartz, the bus driver, arrived at our neighborhood on schedule
to
find that one entrance was blocked by a Gwinnett County utility crew.
The
driver opted not to enter our neighborhood, but to continue on with the
rest of her route. This decision left 9 children in 6th, 7th and 8th
grade
abandoned without explanation and for a period of over an hour.

There is another entrance to our subdivision less than 1/8 of a mile
from
the entrance that was blocked. This other entrance was completely clear
and on the same side of the road. Our subdivision has several
cul-de-sacs
that would allow for the driver to turn around. Having lived on one of
these cul-de-sacs for 18 years and having multiple county school bus
drivers living in the neighborhood, I have personally witnessed
full-sized
county school buses make these turnarounds on many occasions.

Had the driver turned around after making her next pickups and returned
to
pick up our children, the entire bus may have been five to ten minutes
later than normal at arrival to TMS. Instead a group of students made
it
on time while 9 others were left stranded and unattended. Was this a
wise
decision and is it acceptable?

1. I would like an explanation as to the decision making process that
occurred this morning.

2. I would like to know if this decision was a sound one and acceptable
to
all of those responsible for the safety of our children.

3. I would like to know what the decision would be should the same
situation present itself again in the future. This very same issue has
occurred before with the exception that I was unable to intervene on my
son’s behalf and subsequently he was penalized for the rest of the day,
along with the other stranded bus riders, by having to spend the
remainder
of the day sequestered from the rest of their classmates due to
standardized testing that was taking place.

Regards -

Martin Weingarten
1646 Corinth Court
Stone Mountain, GA  30087
mweingarten@earthlink.net

avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean.

Virus Database (VPS): 000734-3, 04/19/2007
Tested on: 4/20/2007 7:55:11 AM
avast! – copyright (c) 1988-2007 ALWIL Software.

E-Mail To All Concerned – Copies Sent USPS Certified Mail

Note: Copies of this message were also sent via USPS Certified Mail to Louise Radloff, Ronni Ford, Grant Reppert. Receipts and signatures of recipients were collected.

—– Original Message —–
From: M. Weingarten
To: Sandra_Holloway@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Debbie_Moore@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Martha_Stephens@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Phillip_Curtis@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Lynne_Davis@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Peggy_ONeill@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
Cc: lradloff@comcast.net ; Ronni_Ford@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Grant_Reppert@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
Sent: Friday, April 20, 2007 7:54 AM
Subject: Re: Missed Bus Pickup – Follow-Up

To: Martha Stephens, Peggy O’Neill, Debbie Moore, Sandra Holloway, Lynne Davis, Phillip Curtis
Cc: Louise Radloff, Ronni Ford, Grant Reppert

Re: Follow-up – Gwinnett County School Bus Missing Pickup Of Corinth Hills Subdivision On The Morning Of Wednesday, April 18, 2007

I believe that a serious error in judgment was made with regards to the bus incident that is addressed in detail below in my original message. I believe that Gwinnett County is extremely fortunate that no harm came to the children in their charge as they remained stranded for over an hour, and unnecessarily so. As stated in my original message below, all the driver had to do was turn around after her next pickup, travel the half mile back and pick up our kids, but the powers that be felt that getting the rest of the route to TMS on schedule trumped the safety and well-being of our children. In my mind there is absolutely no, and I mean no excuse for leaving 12, 13 and 14 year old children unattended for an extended period of time, in the street, without a plan of action in order to get another neighborhood’s children to school on schedule. Someone please explain to me in writing how it is that Gwinnett County believes that this thought process is valid.

Being that this is not the first such incident of a Gwinnett County School System bus leaving our neighborhood children stranded for periods of time of over an hour and having subsequent correspondence from me ignored by the school officials that I addressed, I am sending copies of this correspondence via USPS Certified Mail to Louise Radloff, Ronni Ford and Grant Reppert. Should a similar incident occur again in the future with the outcome not being as fortunate to Gwinnett County as this incident, copies of these documents will be made available to the appropriate authorities, attorneys and members of the media. USPS Certified Mail receipts will provide evidence of possession. I believe that this flawed decision making process is a disaster waiting to happen and will eventually lead to a child or children being injured by being left unattended for long periods of time.

The location of this incident yesterday morning is a quarter mile from the location where less than a month ago a Parkview High student returned home from school only to be viciously attacked, bound and raped. This incident was extensively reported on by all local media outlets. Here is a link to the Gwinnett County Police Department website regarding the assault: http://www.co.gwinnett.ga.us/cgi-bin/gwincty/egov/ep/gcbrowse.do?channelId=-33941&channelPage=/ep/channel/default.jsp&pageTypeId=536880236

The decisions and actions of Gwinnett County Schools regarding this incident and the subsequent disregard of concern is reprehensible at best.

From what I understand, the last time this bus driver refused to turn into our neighborhood and pickup our children was due to the fact that Gwinnett County DOT had placed a traffic monitor across the road and she believed that these monitor wires were electrical wires. This incident left our children stranded and unattended for a period of around an hour and a half and upon their eventual arrival at school led to the sequestering of these stranded students as I referenced in my original message below. While not positive, we believe that the timeframe for this event was last October while the ITBS testing was being conducted. School login records should bear this out although my son tells me that it is his recollection that a TMS staff member signed in for them. Is it appropriate for a staff member to sign-in for a student?

It has also since come to my attention that the same bus driver involved in this incident was recently reprimanded by TMS staff for leaving these very same neighborhood children stranded at TMS one afternoon. I can only imagine the reason that this driver was addressed for this particular incident was due to the fact that it occurred on school property leaving TMS staff directly responsible for the issue. This reprimand was for an incident 15 minutes in duration and while the children were still under the supervision of TMS staff. We have multiple incidents where children were left completely unattended for much longer periods of time.

Unfortunately, as stated, there is a disturbing history with regards to this issue and I want to raise my own red flags and document the issue at hand. I have no desire to debate this issue by phone or verbally in any form in order to avoid any “selective memory” issues that might arise. I would however be more than happy to receive any explanation that the county might have to offer in writing.

I want to also address what appears to be a lack of planning by Gwinnett County School Systems in the event that a bus is unable to pickup children at the scheduled time. We live in a relatively small neighborhood with only three stops. If a bus does not arrive on time our children have no idea as to what they should do. Fortunately, I was home and available to assist on this occasion, but upon making my way to my son’s stop found the bus rider kids milling around the neighborhood aimlessly. I believe that there should be a plan in place in the event that a bus is later than a designated period of time – say 15 minutes. The kids should be advised to rally and consolidate at a predetermined location. The kids and the bus drivers should have this location marked on the bus route map to avoid confusion. There is strength in numbers and this would add an additional layer of security.

Regards -

Martin Weingarten
1646 Corinth Court
Stone Mountain, GA 30087
mweingarten@earthlink.net

cc (via USPS Certified Mail): Louise Radloff, Ronni Ford, Grant Reppert
xc: esq.

—– Original Message —–
From: M. Weingarten
To: Lynne_Davis@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Phillip_Curtis@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Martha_Stephens@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Peggy_ONeill@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Debbie_Moore@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; Sandra_Holloway@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2007 12:40 PM
Subject: Missed Bus Pickup

To:
Martha Stephens
Peggy O’Neill
Debbie Moore
Sandra Holloway
Lynne Davis
Phillip Curtis

Re: Gwinnett County School Bus Missing Pickup Of Corinth Hills Subdivision On The Morning Of Wednesday, April 18, 2007

All -

First, thanks to Ms. Davis and Mr. Curtis for meeting with me this morning on such short notice to allow me to address my concerns and for assisting in resolving the issue of getting my son into class for testing. Thanks also for providing an appropriate county contact for me to address… but, I would like to take exception with one statement Ms. Davis made having had the opportunity to reflect upon it for awhile. Whereas I can appreciate Ms. Davis’ assertion that the county “owns the process of transportation” and that the process is “out of her hands”, ultimately she is responsible for those students enrolled at her school and am a bit disappointed that she didn’t feel compelled to seek a response that would at least attempt to satisfy the situation at hand and remedy same for any similar future event.

The situation as I understand it:
Ms. Schwartz, the bus driver, arrived at our neighborhood on schedule to find that one entrance was blocked by a Gwinnett County utility crew. The driver opted not to enter our neighborhood, but to continue on with the rest of her route. This decision left 9 children in 6th, 7th and 8th grade abandoned without explanation and for a period of over an hour.

There is another entrance to our subdivision less than 1/8 of a mile from the entrance that was blocked. This other entrance was completely clear and on the same side of the road. Our subdivision has several cul-de-sacs that would allow for the driver to turn around. Having lived on one of these cul-de-sacs for 18 years and having multiple county school bus drivers living in the neighborhood, I have personally witnessed full-sized county school buses make these turnarounds on many occasions.

Had the driver turned around after making her next pickups and returned to pick up our children, the entire bus may have been five to ten minutes later than normal at arrival to TMS. Instead a group of students made it on time while 9 others were left stranded and unattended. Was this a wise decision and is it acceptable?

1. I would like an explanation as to the decision making process that occurred this morning.

2. I would like to know if this decision was a sound one and acceptable to all of those responsible for the safety of our children.

3. I would like to know what the decision would be should the same situation present itself again in the future. This very same issue has occurred before with the exception that I was unable to intervene on my son’s behalf and subsequently he was penalized for the rest of the day, along with the other stranded bus riders, by having to spend the remainder of the day sequestered from the rest of their classmates due to standardized testing that was taking place.

Regards -

Martin Weingarten
1646 Corinth Court
Stone Mountain, GA 30087
mweingarten@earthlink.net

——————————————————————————–

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E-Mail From Peggy O’Neill – Transportation

—– Original Message —–
From: Peggy_ONeill@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us
To: M. Weingarten
Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2007 3:32 PM
Subject: Re: Missed Bus Pickup

Thank you for your concern in regards to this matter.  I have discussed it with Martha Stephens who will be contacting you shortly by phone.

“M. Weingarten” <mweingarten@earthlink.net>
04/18/2007 05:05 PM Please respond to
“M. Weingarten” <mweingarten@earthlink.net>

To <Peggy_ONeill@gwinnett.k12.ga.us>
cc
Subject Missed Bus Pickup

To:
Martha Stephens
Peggy O’Neill
Debbie Moore
Sandra Holloway
Lynne Davis
Phillip Curtis

Re: Gwinnett County School Bus Missing Pickup Of Corinth Hills Subdivision On The Morning Of Wednesday, April 18, 2007

All -

First, thanks to Ms. Davis and Mr. Curtis for meeting with me this morning on such short notice to allow me to address my concerns and for assisting in resolving the issue of getting my son into class for testing. Thanks also for providing an appropriate county contact for me to address… but, I would like to take exception with one statement Ms. Davis made having had the opportunity to reflect upon it for awhile. Whereas I can appreciate Ms. Davis’ assertion that the county “owns the process of transportation” and that the process is “out of her hands”, ultimately she is responsible for those students enrolled at her school and am a bit disappointed that she didn’t feel compelled to seek a response that would at least attempt to satisfy the situation at hand and remedy same for any similar future event.

The situation as I understand it:
Ms. Schwartz, the bus driver, arrived at our neighborhood on schedule to find that one entrance was blocked by a Gwinnett County utility crew. The driver opted not to enter our neighborhood, but to continue on with the rest of her route. This decision left 9 children in 6th, 7th and 8th grade abandoned without explanation and for a period of over an hour.

There is another entrance to our subdivision less than 1/8 of a mile from the entrance that was blocked. This other entrance was completely clear and on the same side of the road. Our subdivision has several cul-de-sacs that would allow for the driver to turn around. Having lived on one of these cul-de-sacs for 18 years and having multiple county school bus drivers living in the neighborhood, I have personally witnessed full-sized county school buses make these turnarounds on many occasions.

Had the driver turned around after making her next pickups and returned to pick up our children, the entire bus may have been five to ten minutes later than normal at arrival to TMS. Instead a group of students made it on time while 9 others were left stranded and unattended. Was this a wise decision and is it acceptable?

1. I would like an explanation as to the decision making process that occurred this morning.

2. I would like to know if this decision was a sound one and acceptable to all of those responsible for the safety of our children.

3. I would like to know what the decision would be should the same situation present itself again in the future. This very same issue has occurred before with the exception that I was unable to intervene on my son’s behalf and subsequently he was penalized for the rest of the day, along with the other stranded bus riders, by having to spend the remainder of the day sequestered from the rest of their classmates due to standardized testing that was taking place.

Regards -

Martin Weingarten
1646 Corinth Court
Stone Mountain, GA  30087
mweingarten@earthlink.net

——————————————————————————–

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E-Mail To Lynne Davis – Principal, TMS

—– Original Message —–

From: M. Weingarten

To: lynne_davis@gwinnett.k12.ga.us

Sent: Friday, September 29, 2006 9:51 AM

Subject: Meeting Follow Up

Re: Meeting of Thursday, September 28, 2006

Ms. Davis -

I want to thank you for taking time from your schedule so late in the day and on such short notice to address my concerns. While our conversation is still clear in my mind I want to review the major points of discussion for any future reference.

- You requested that we (my wife and I) lay some groundwork to give you a better understanding of our concerns.

- We explained that our concerns have grown from a bus schedule (route 19) change that was announced by way of a memo from Patty Reynolds on Thursday, September 21, 2006.

- Without providing reasons for this change, Ms. Reynolds memo stated that our neighborhood children would be delivered 30 minutes later each day in the afternoon.

- I requested clarification and reasons for the change via e-mail from Ms. Reynolds, but only received a reply from her stating, “I am sorry you are dissatisfied with me, I will continue to do what is best for all involved.”

- I also received on 09/21/06 an unsolicited telephone call from Mr. Curtis on Ms. Reynolds’ behalf. During this telephone conversation Mr. Curtis volunteered that it was his understanding that the bus route change stemmed from actions taken by the parents of the 33 children who ride the bus and who live in a neighboring subdivision named Evergreen.

- We conveyed to you our belief that deceit has played a role in subsequent reasons given by various school transportation officials to the parents of the children of our neighborhood. These include:

- Safety — The desire to eliminate a left-hand turn into Evergreen

- If safety was a genuine concern both the morning and afternoon route would have been altered which it has not.

- Discipline Concerns

- No referrals have been issued against any child on this route thus far this year

- The transportation department’s concern of the loss of another bus driver should this change not be implemented.

- I personally spoke with the bus driver (Ms. Schwartz) on Tuesday, September 26, 2006 and addressed this issue at which point she declared that she was not aware of this, was not concerned with the route as it had been and was indeed opposed to the change.

- Appearances would suggest that Mr. Curtis’ assertion of parent intervention at Evergreen is very much the reason for change. To this we would argue that it is unfair and unreasonable for our children to sacrifice 30 minutes per day and 2.5 hours per week in their schedule to accommodate another neighborhood.

- These concerns by neighborhood parents led to numerous phone calls and e-mails directed to Ms. Reynolds, Mr. Curtis and other county transportation officials. It was these calls and e-mails that led to my most serious concern which was, as stated by me in other e-mails to you, Mr. Curtis entering the then filled route 19 school bus on Tuesday, September 26, 2006 whereby,  according to my son he directed the following dialog towards the students from our neighborhood: He “didn’t want to hear anymore about phone calls, e-mails or otherwise coming to him or any of his staff or co-workers about the recent bus route situation.” He went on to exclaim that the students “were not allowed to discuss the route change on this bus anymore.” He finished by saying that “the bus route change was final.”

- You stated that you had a discussion with Mr. Curtis yesterday (09/28/06) whereby you divulged to him that you had a meeting with me in the afternoon and wanted to get his take on the matter beforehand. You continued that you felt that Mr. Curtis had not intended any harm directed toward our group of children, but that he did admit to referencing phone calls.

- I stated to you that logically, we in Corinth Hills, would be the only parents of the children on that bus who would be calling in opposition to the change as the Evergreen children were arriving home earlier. It was my argument to you that Mr. Curtis had created an even more divisive environment by virtue of the fact that every child on that bus understood exactly who he was addressing.

- After we returned home from our meeting yesterday, I again spoke with Eric about the incident and again asked him to recount the events. He stands by his earlier statements referenced above and added that Mr. Curtis had not addressed general discipline, had not addressed the “clapping and cheering” incident at Evergreen the previous day and suggested that the majority of children on the bus would be willing and able to substantiate his assertions if necessary.

In conclusion I want to address my specific questions put to you in previous e-mails and your responses:

1. Is it acceptable for a teacher to board a bus on school grounds and address a group of students in front of their peers and harass them about issues that they have absolutely nothing to do with or control over?

It is my understanding from our meeting that you believe that the means utilized above were not acceptable and that you have assured us that our son would never again be singled out individually, or as part of a group for this type of treatment.

2. Is it school policy to restrict normal conversation on school buses? Specifically, is it against school policy for our children to discuss bus route changes during the course of normal conversation while on the bus?

Again, it is my understanding from our conversations during our meeting yesterday that any type of conversation is allowable while on the bus as long as it conforms to the uniform code of school bus behavior. I have instructed Eric that he is free to discuss any allowable topic up to and including school bus route changes with his peers while on the bus.

I realize from our conversations that you have no responsibilities over the assignment of bus routes, but we had to directly address the issues in order to acknowledge your request to detail our concerns “from the beginning”. As I indicated to you as my last point of order yesterday, I, and we as a neighborhood are still not satisfied with the resolutions thus far with the bus change and that I was still gathering my facts and that at least one more message in writing was forthcoming addressed to all involved as well as appropriate county officials. I want you to understand that relative portions of our conversations and this message will be referenced.

It seems a shame to have had all endure these matters of contention over the past week or so, when we as a neighborhood are not opposed to altering a route schedule,  to be accommodating to our neighbors and school system, but only want it to be an equitable situation.

Thank you once again -

Marty Weingarten

1646 Corinth Court

Stone Mountain, GA  30087

mweingarten@earthlink.net

770.469.8559

xc: esq

E-Mail From Lynne Davis – Principal, TMS

—– Original Message —–
From:
To: “M. Weingarten”
Cc: ;
Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2006 12:02 PM
Subject: Re: TMS Principal Lynne Davis Unresponsive To Our Concern

Mr. Weingarten, I was out sick on Wednesday. You sent your email at 7:05
PM
on Tuesday. Today is Thursday. I do not see this as being unresponsive.
As
you specifically instructed in your original email, no one at Trickum
was
to phone you. I don’t have discussions over email. I will be more than
happy to talk with you by phone or meet with you to discuss your
concerns.

Lynne Davis
Principal
Trickum Middle School
770-806-3769

“M. Weingarten”

To

09/28/2006 07:43
cc
AM ,

Subject
Please respond to TMS Principal Lynne Davis
“M. Weingarten” Unresponsive To Our Concern

Ms. Ford:

Below is a message sent to Lynne Davis by me Tuesday, September 26,
2006.
None of the recipients have responded. My son is an excellent student
and
more importantly, a good, responsible citizen. He has been raised to be
respectful, fair-minded and accommodating. It’s becoming increasingly
difficult to explain to him why his own school is ignoring and
victimizing
him. Please review the content of the original message below and
specifically address the following via reply e-mail:

1. Is it acceptable for a teacher to board a bus on school grounds and
address a group of students in front of their peers and harass them
about
issues that they have absolutely nothing to do with or control over?

2. Is it school policy to restrict normal conversation on school buses?

3. Specifically, is it against school policy for our children to discuss
bus route changes during the course of normal conversation while on the
bus?

4. Is it acceptable for a principal to ignore a concern of a parent?

These are legitimate concerns, concerns that can be substantiated and
corroborated by many other people and need to be addressed.

Marty Weingarten
mweingarten@earthlink.net

—– Original Message —–
From: M. Weingarten
To: phillip_curtis@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ;
patty_reynolds@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ;
gloria_thomas@gwinnett.k12.ga.us ; lynne_davis@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2006 7:05 PM
Subject: Mr. Curtis And Bus Route 19

To:
Phillip Curtis – phillip_curtis@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
Patty Reynolds – patty_reynolds@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
Gloria Thomas – gloria_thomas@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
Lynne Davis – lynne_davis@gwinnett.k12.ga.us

Re: Bus Route 19 and Mr. Curtis

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Ladies and Gentleman:

This message is intended ONLY to cover Mr. Curtis’ directives to my son
and
the student bus riders of our neighborhood that occurred this afternoon.
Another, separate message will follow shortly specifically addressing
the
bus route 19 schedule change.

My son Eric Weingarten, an 8th grade student at Trickum Middle School
(TMS)
arrived home from school today to inform me that at first afternoon bus
call Mr. Curtis entered the bus and directed the following dialog
towards
the students from our neighborhood: He “didn’t want to hear anymore
about
phone calls, e-mails or otherwise coming to him or any of his staff or
co-workers about the recent bus route situation.” He went on to exclaim
that the students “were not allowed to discuss the route change on this
bus
anymore.” He finished by saying that “the bus route change was final.”

Again, ONLY addressing Mr. Curtis’ comments of this afternoon – My son
is
an excellent student and has NEVER been a discipline problem. I want to
make myself very clear here, I WILL NOT allow my son to be harassed by
ANYONE including TMS staff. I hope that you all understand this because
I’m
not sure that I can emphasize this point strongly enough. IT WILL NOT
HAPPEN, PERIOD. I am prepared to take whatever legal actions necessary
to
ensure that this does not occur again. Our children HAVE NOT called
anyone
in regards to this issue. Our children HAVE NOT e-mailed anyone in
regards
to this issue. Addressing our children specifically about this issue in
a
harassing tone is highly inappropriate at best and could be construed as
MUCH WORSE. I would like to think that if a TMS staff member had an
issue
with a parent that they would be professional enough to address that
particular parent directly.

Secondary to this, I would like to inquire as to the points of Mr.
Curtis’
directives:
1. Is it Gwinnett County School policy to restrict normal conversation
on
school buses? Specifically, is it against school policy for our children
to
discuss bus route changes during the course of normal conversation while
on
the bus?
2. The bus route change may be finalized in your collective minds, but
we
as a neighborhood are not satisfied with the explanations that we have
received regarding the issue. The neighborhood parents are organizing
and
something in writing will be coming shortly to each of you along with
appropriate Gwinnett County School officials. Having heard from the
various
parties concerned, I feel very comfortable having this issue addressed
in a
legal forum. In the past I have also experienced great success employing
the services of investigative journalists from various local media
outlets
to address matters of inequity and have no reservations about contacting
them in regards to this issue. I think that all citizens of Gwinnett
County
could benefit from hearing how our school officials have addressed this
issue.

I DO NOT want phone calls in regards to this matter. Should any
recipient
of this message feel compelled to respond, do so in writing. Eric is
being
directed by us not to speak with any school personnel regarding this
issue.
Again, should any recipient feel compelled to respond to this message,
do
so in writing to us and DO NOT involve our son in order to relay a
message.

Marty Weingarten
1646 Corinth Court
Stone Mountain, GA 30087-3233
mweingarten@earthlink.net

xc: esq

—– Original Message —–
From:
To: “M. Weingarten”
Sent: Friday, September 22, 2006 12:34 PM
Subject: Re: New Bus Schedule

Please accept my apology. I had a schedule meeting today with my
drivers. I
do change my voice message because the callers want a call back, ASAP.
When
I have meetings we only have a short time before PM routes. On the memo
it
lists my number, I do return call with 24 hours.
The latest your son will be home will be 30 minutes later. This is allow
the driver to drop 33 students, and continue with approximately 12
students.
I have many buses where a student is first on a and last off. You where
given this memo on Thursday 9-21-06, Its will start on 9-25-06. This is
4
day notice.

I am sorry you are dissatisfied with me, I will continue to do what is
best
for all involved.

I have called your work number and they could not locate you.

Patty Reynolds
Transportation Supervisor
Office (678)380-7288
Fax (678)380-7294

“M. Weingarten”

To

09/22/2006 08:53
cc
AM

Subject
New Bus Schedule
Please respond to
“M. Weingarten”

Ms. Reynolds,

My name is Marty Weingarten, I’m the father of Eric Weingarten who rides
the bus to and from school from the Corinth Hills neighborhood. Eric
brought home yesterday, Thursday, 09/21/06, a notification from you
stating
that he would be delivered home 30 minutes later beginning Monday,
09/25/06. There were no other details outlined in this memo. Today is
the
Friday before this change is to occur and I am trying to ascertain the
reasons for and details of this change. I have attempted to contact you
by
phone this morning, but a message greeted me stating that you would be
in
meetings and unavailable all day.

As I understand the situation as of now, Eric is one of the first
pickups
on his route with the bus arriving at approximately 8:40 AM and he is
one
of the first to be delivered in the afternoon with the bus arriving at
approximately 4:30 PM. The concern is that if the pickup time in the
morning is not adjusted accordingly, my son will be left to sacrifice 30
minutes out of his day.

If, and unfortunately all I can do at this point is speculate due to the
short notice, lack of detail and inability to reach someone to get an
answer, Eric is indeed scheduled to be one of the first pickups and last
dropoffs, this would be extraordinarily unfair and unacceptable.

Please advise with details of this change.

Marty Weingarten
1646 Corinth Court
Stone Mountain, GA 30087

E-Mail From Patty Reynolds – Transportation

—– Original Message —–
From:
To: “M. Weingarten”
Sent: Friday, September 22, 2006 11:34 AM
Subject: Re: New Bus Schedule

Please accept my apology. I had a schedule meeting today with my
drivers. I
do change my voice message because the callers want a call back, ASAP.
When
I have meetings we only have a short time before PM routes. On the memo
it
lists my number, I do return call with 24 hours.
The latest your son will be home will be 30 minutes later. This is allow
the driver to drop 33 students, and continue with approximately 12
students.
I have many buses where a student is first on a and last off. You where
given this memo on Thursday 9-21-06, Its will start on 9-25-06. This is
4
day notice.

I am sorry you are dissatisfied with me, I will continue to do what is
best
for all involved.

I have called your work number and they could not locate you.

Patty Reynolds
Transportation Supervisor
Office (678)380-7288
Fax (678)380-7294

“M. Weingarten”

To

09/22/2006 08:53
cc
AM

Subject
New Bus Schedule
Please respond to
“M. Weingarten”

Ms. Reynolds,

My name is Marty Weingarten, I’m the father of Eric Weingarten who rides
the bus to and from school from the Corinth Hills neighborhood. Eric
brought home yesterday, Thursday, 09/21/06, a notification from you
stating
that he would be delivered home 30 minutes later beginning Monday,
09/25/06. There were no other details outlined in this memo. Today is
the
Friday before this change is to occur and I am trying to ascertain the
reasons for and details of this change. I have attempted to contact you
by
phone this morning, but a message greeted me stating that you would be
in
meetings and unavailable all day.

As I understand the situation as of now, Eric is one of the first
pickups
on his route with the bus arriving at approximately 8:40 AM and he is
one
of the first to be delivered in the afternoon with the bus arriving at
approximately 4:30 PM. The concern is that if the pickup time in the
morning is not adjusted accordingly, my son will be left to sacrifice 30
minutes out of his day.

If, and unfortunately all I can do at this point is speculate due to the
short notice, lack of detail and inability to reach someone to get an
answer, Eric is indeed scheduled to be one of the first pickups and last
dropoffs, this would be extraordinarily unfair and unacceptable.

Please advise with details of this change.

Marty Weingarten
1646 Corinth Court
Stone Mountain, GA 30087