WASHINGTON – Arlington County School Board members listened to community community concerns about reduced bus service but made no changes Thursday night.
Dozens of parents made their cases to the school board, pleading to have service restored. Some say they’ve lost their jobs while others are worried about kids walking alone.
Petitions have been signed and stories shared over social media.
Some neighborhood families even showed up to the meeting together and wore matching shirts.
“(Translated from Spanish) Our kids have every right, even more because they’re small children,” says America Martinez.
“I feel like the majority of those who have lost the bus are Hispanics,” says one parent, Blanca de Leon, also translated from Spanish. “I feel it’s not fair.”
Superintendent Pat Murphy says they’re still making adjustments.
“We’ll continue to, as we move forward, evaluate where we are and work with individual situations and cases as we see fit,” said Murphy.
“If there are challenges with work or with other responsibilities, I think that is clearly something we can support them with,” said Murphy.
He says the county has provided and hired staff to help get kids to school.
WTOP’s Andrew Mollenbeck contributed to this report. Follow Andrew and WTOP on Twitter.
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