Don’t Get Rid Of The Village

To the Editor:

“It takes a village to raise a child.” If this is true, why get rid of the village? It seems to me the bus drivers for MTM are an important part of the village of Newtown. They are members of our village tasked with the enormous responsibility of keeping our children safe. I think a little more care goes into that task when you know or are neighbors of the children and their families. I think there is more accountability with the system in place.

I am well aware of the patience required to transport my son to and from school. As the mother of a special needs child, do I think that a driver of an outside bus company would call me at home after hours to discuss ways to get my son to behave a little better on the bus? No. I think I would get a call from an unknown office employee during office hours telling me my son would no longer be allowed on the bus. There are intangibles that don’t show up in a contract that are in place with MTM. These are personal relationships that are still professional and objective. The care and love MTM drivers give our children are priceless.

The driving principle of awarding the contract seems to be economics. Although I disagree with money ever being the driving factor of anything, I understand the charge to save the town money. I do not however, understand how sending Newtown money out of town is a good idea. Keep our tax dollars circulating in Newtown.

At the previous Board of Education meeting there were no members of the community at large that supported awarding the contract to an outside company. As elected officials of the school board it is prudent of you to support the decisions of the majority (when there are no compelling reasons not to do so) after honoring the right for all to express opinions and viewpoints.

Renee Knapp

10 Berkshire Road, Sandy Hook                                    April 29, 2009