Commerce : Council Funds Bus Service for Students at 2 Schools
The City Council declared an emergency Tuesday and approved spending $64,000 from the city’s general fund to pay for busing some Commerce students home from two intermediate schools in Bell Gardens.
About 260 fifth- through eighth-graders in the Montebello Unified School District are bused from Commerce to Bell Gardens and Suva intermediate schools. Because of district budget cuts, however, the students in the year-round schools have had no transportation home since July 1.
Most of the Commerce students who attend Bell Gardens Intermediate have been picked up by parents after classes, said Principal Louis Ayala. The school, located at 5841 Live Oak St., is about three miles from Commerce. The area in between is mostly industrial, he said.
Concerned parents and children filled the council chambers Tuesday night. Most thanked the council for agreeing to pay for the busing, but some complained that the city should have taken action sooner.
“For the last couple weeks, we’ve been trying to find a way where the city can assist in this matter,” Mayor Robert J. Cornejo said before the council unanimously voted to approve the funds, which will pay for busing the students home until June 30, 1993. Councilman Ruben C. Batres was absent.
The afternoon busing will begin as soon as the district can arrange it, said Judy Rambeau, spokeswoman for the City of Commerce.
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