Parents Deserve A Say

To the Editor:

I was extremely disappointed last night at the Board of Education meeting. I wish we had an even larger turnout in support of MTM, Inc. I want the owner/operators to stay here in Newtown. I find it quite convenient that the vote was tabled until next Thursday [April 30], as it is after the annual budget referendum, due to two board members “being out of the country”; isn’t that what email is for?

I have brain cancer and came to this meeting to support my bus drivers during the week that I take chemotherapy. I have five children, four currently in the school system and have found Phil Carrol and Paul Miles to be extraordinarily kind and helpful. My children adore them, as do I. I moved here from Norwalk 4½ years ago, I pay taxes, and I think the parents deserve a say in who drives their children to school.

The owner of All Star Transportation said something that struck me as odd. He implied that they were led to believe they were not putting people out of jobs. Who led them to believe that? We were also told that the Newtown High School bids are coming in with a significant savings. Would it not be ethically sound to allocate some of the money that we voted on allowing to go to MTM?

I don’t know, maybe I am just a “dumb housewife,” but I would much rather pull my children out of Newtown than worry about who my children’s bus driver is. Maybe All Star can drive the private school kids.

Christine Hermes

99 Brushy Hill Road, Newtown                                     April 22, 2009