Parents in Busing Protest Say Schools Picked on Them : Friendly Hills: District officials agree to restore partial service but say low ridership caused cutback.

Families who live in one of Whittier’s more affluent neighborhoods say East Whittier City school officials are picking on them because of their prosperity.

Some parents in Friendly Hills have criticized the East Whittier City School District for reducing bus service in their neighborhood to save money, while leaving bus service intact in other parts of the district.

The district eliminated bus service at the start of the school year for Friendly Hills students attending Granada Middle School, which is up to 3 1/2 miles from their neighborhood. But officials recently agreed to restore partial service after parents complained repeatedly.

“They said because we’re more affluent, we’ll get our kids to school,” parent Mary Stimmler said.

School officials said, however, that bus service was cut because fewer Friendly Hills students rode the buses. Less than half of the 120 eligible students took the bus to the middle school, Assistant Supt. Roy Barringer said. In other parts of the district, up to 75% of the eligible students were taking the bus. The district has no busing for elementary schools.

“Why encumber the expense when the service is not being utilized?” Barringer said.

Supt. Dorothy Fagan said even fewer Friendly Hills students took the bus on rainy days.

The controversy flared up after the school board decided to eliminate the bus service in Friendly Hills to help balance the district’s $22.5-million budget. The board approved $1.3 million in budget cuts, including $17,000 from transportation.

After Friendly Hills parents complained, officials agreed to bus students to Granada Middle School from Murphy Ranch Elementary School, near the south end of Friendly Hills. The partial service resumes Monday.

Some parents said they are still not satisfied and will continue to pressure officials to restore bus service throughout their neighborhood.

Steve Belleville pointed out that his home is 1 1/2 miles from the elementary school. The new plan “will benefit some people, but it won’t benefit us at all,” he said at a recent board meeting. “We still have to pick them up from the bus stop.”

Other districts also have cut busing costs. Some have started charging for transportation. Others have reduced the number of eligible students by increasing the distance they are required to walk.

East Whittier City began busing service when some schools became overcrowded, Supt. Dorothy Fagan said. The district switched some neighborhoods from one middle school to another to ease the overcrowding. When the change increased the distance from home to school for many families, the district began offering busing. About 500 of the district’s 7,700 students are eligible for busing.

Ironically, the new plan won’t cost the district more money. Officials said they discovered recently that they were paying for more bus service than the district has been receiving and that they can add the bus service between the elementary school and middle school without increasing costs.