" All you crybabies are advocating a huge increase in school taxes which I bet you don't want to pay. The busing that is done now is subsidised by the state. The busing you are asking for gets no help from the state. It would be a huge expense for all these buses. If there are some trouble spots that need busing then provide these areas busing but they must pay. They have a choice, drive your kid to school or pay for a bus. You can't pick and choose who gets bused and who doesn't. Any student who would like to be bused should be but if they live within the state set area they must pay, not all the taxpayers should pay. "

" No school district with any sense would have children under 10 crossing the arterial. It isn't especially safe for adults to cross. It IS the responsibility of the schools to provide for safe transport of children to public school, and only those who live within a reasonable walking distance and whose route is safe should be asked to walk to school. Otherwise, you are creating a situation where only the wealthy and privileged can afford safe transportation -- some parents may not have vehicles, others may have to get to work and not be available for privately transporting their children to and from school. These are reasons we have school buses in the first place. It's also a more environmentally responsible way to move people -- many people in one vehicle rather than many vehicles each transporting one (or even a couple) child each. If any of you have ever tried to drive past the middle school in Ithaca when school lets out, you'll know the mess caused by parents who all insist their little darlings are too good to ride the bus with the other kids -- the disregard for traffic rules and blocking the road -- they have repeated problems and often have to post a police car there to keep the parent drivers in line with safe driving. No one is asking the school to "bend" a rule -- what people are saying is that this new rule is no good, it is not safe, and it needs to be changed, not bent. We're not talking about some cushy excess to make people's lives easier -- we are talking about the health and safety of small children in our community. Good grief. I don't even live right in Auburn, and my last kid still home is 17, but I can clearly see that it is totally out of line for the Auburn School District to have little children crossing the arterial. Anyone who drives in Auburn can see there is no sense or safety in that. "

" Really brew do you have kids??? Not only should they NOT be crossing the Arterial but walking thru Washington-Orchard area--one of the now WORST neighborhoods in Auburn!! If it were my kids I would be at the Mayors/School Board office daily! In my area we have LAWS to prevent that of course the went into effect AFTER a child was killed--why should Auburn wait for that moment!!!!!!! "

" Well I pay my City Taxes, my County Taxes, My SCHOOL Taxes and I have NO KIDS. I agree with Brew why should I have to pay to cross YOUR kids across the arterial. I should NOT have to pay school taxes since I have no use for the school. Its like YOU paying for a new car for me that you will never get to see, let alone drive! "

" What does turf have to do with busing? "

" I wouldn't have my children cross the arterial to get to school, I would drive them. If an exception were to be made for my children then the floodgates would open and everyone would want their children bused. I would take care of the problem myself and would not look to the school system to bus my children. The responsibility of educating my children is the only responsibility of the schools. If the schools were to spend more money I would want it for better education standards not busing. Busing should be provided for anyone that needs it at YOUR expense, not the school systems. Use your head and quit putting your hand out for government to fill it up. "

" To Mr Brew 1234, I assure you I am one man that has always fought the school district on wasteful spending. However, I also believe we have an obligation to take care of our children. There is no way on Gods green earth I would ever feel comfortable having 5 and 6 year old children waking across that arterial. It is simply too dangerous. Middle school students YES, but never elementary students. Instead of proposing to spend millions of dollars on artificial turf, I propose the board raise our graduation rate, and guarantee our elementary students are safe getting to and from school. That isn't too much to ask for considering the money we pay in taxes. "

" In the past 3 years the schools have added hundreds of thousands of dollars to the budget with several new positions in administration. They have continued to raise school taxes, and they even tried to get turf at a cost of a million +. But what they CAN'T DO IS USE COMMON SENSE and bus all K,1st and 2nd graders. IS TURF MORE IMPORTANT THAN KIDS? WAKE UP MORONS! "

" Give me a break! Drive your brat to school if you fear for his or her life. Quit asking the government to make your life easier. Send the kid to school in a cab. But stop whining and asking the schools to bend the rules for crybabies. "