A New Tone-Deaf Rule On

Musical Instruments

To the Editor:

I am upset about this new rule that the school bus company came up with. It is now a rule that any student carrying a musical instrument that cannot fit on their lap will not be permitted on the bus. There was no notification to parents from the school or MTM that this was to take place. Parents now have to drive and pick up their children to and from school which creates more traffic at the schools in an already congested time.

I thought the buses were provided to eliminate traffic at the schools and be able to provide reliable transportation for the students to and from home. If this was a new rule, parents should have been giving ample notice as to not inconvenience them when the bus pulled up to pick up the child only to say they couldn’t board the bus. If this was in the planning, maybe advanced preparation should have been done and maybe one seat taken out of the buses to provide a safe place for the instruments... or even make the buses like airplanes with overhead compartments. This should not have been a decision made with out notification or advanced planning. Parents now have to make special arrangements to try to get the children to and from school, which is inconvenient for my wife and I.

Kevin Stoyak

2 Buttonball Drive, Sandy Hook                        September 1, 2010