Millstone parent encourages support of local bus drivers

It is a shame that this town is fighting over differences of opinion and choices. It does not matter if we send our children to public or private school systems. Regardless if we used to live in the North or the South or in different parts of the world, we now live in Millstone and we love this community. Let us forget the past performance of the administration, and let's move forward to fulfill our goals and objectives. We live in America, and we believe our children deserve the very best to compete and [deserve to] be equipped with the best tools and knowledge. Every one of them is the future of America. What happened to our ethics, moral values and beliefs? As the president said, "No child will be left behind." We should do our best to resolve these issues of busing our children. We should be united, not divided just because we have different opinions and choices.

We should be supportive of the bus drivers who reside here and drive our children to school every day. If we outsource the busing, it does not resolve our problem; it is just a continuation of putting our money from the left to the right of our pocket, and it does not save us from anything. Besides, it will add more worries for us and would be like living in New York City. [We would be] worried about kids sleeping on the bus and the driver not noticing until he [or she] reached the final stop; about our children's safety; and about checking and verifying independently each bus driver's background.

Yes, we send our kids to private school. The state or the town allocates and spends at least $11,000 for each child who attends public school. We are not asking for a lot but [want] at least our share to provide us with bus service. Please don't take this liberty away from our children. We should be helping each other and should watch those people who have a public [interest] or conflict of interest in our community.

We should support one another because we want our community to grow and prosper. How would you feel if you were the parent who sends your child to private school with no bus service available? How would you feel as a bus driver living in Millstone who has had their hours cut? Yes, school cost is the biggest expense in every community, but we could probably cut down other costs. We must encourage each household to write a petition letter to our congressmen and state senators for assistance. Let us stop this bickering and work together for the benefit of our children and the community. Most of all, let us respect one another and work in harmony in resolving this issue.

Raulito Legaspi

Millstone Township