No answers as Hoover families face loss of school transportation

It has been four months since the Hoover school board voted 4-1 to eliminate school bus transportation for most students beginning in August, 2014. Parents have come before the board at every opportunity and asked for information about how their children will get to school. So far, little useful information has been forthcoming.

How are Hoover parents to plan for the next school year? Superintendent Andy Craig has been unable to answer questions about possible fee-based bus transportation. It is illegal in Alabama for a public school system to charge bus riders a direct fee for transportation to school. The alternative is a bus service run by a private contractor, with fees for rides being paid directly to the contractor by Hoover families. This arrangement raises obvious questions, none of which have been answered satisfactorily to give families a way to plan for the next school year.