DATE: Friday, October 17, 1997              TAG: 9710170649

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   70 lines

THE LONGEST RIDE BUS RIDES TOO LONG, UNSETTLING FOR SOME CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS, PARENTS SAY

Some parents of special education students are upset and concerned that their children are spending more than an hour each way on buses to and from school.

District transportation officials acknowledge that students on at least five to 10 of the district's 118 special education buses have unusually long commutes, but added that distance to programs and an urgent need for bus drivers are complicating the situation.

``We're going to chip away at (the problem),'' said David Pace, director of transportation.

The lengthy drives have even affected students who live close to the schools they attend. And for some special needs students, the long periods of time spent on the bus can be particularly disruptive and unsettling.

Parents such as Jennifer Velez want a solution now. Velez's 10-year-old son, Thomas, has been spending about 80 minutes each way on a bus between their home near the Beach campus of Tidewater Community College and his classes at Pembroke Elementary School. Velez estimated the trip, without stops, could be done in 15 minutes. She has been trying to get the situation resolved since the first week of school, but conversations with district transportation and special education officials have proved fruitless.

Velez said the transportation department had not offered her ``any solutions to any of these problems. (Officials) did not say when it would get corrected, if it would get corrected.''

Special education programs are scattered at schools throughout the city. Not every school serves every need, so students may be transported to a school far from home.

For Velez's son, who is autistic and suffers from a chromosomal disorder, the ride is exhausting, sometimes he falls asleep on the bus.

``It wears him out,'' she said.

Pace said the district tries to limit the amount of time students spend on buses.

``Our philosophy has been an hour or less, up until this year,'' he said.

The district has been waiting since September for 49 replacement buses, 19 of them for special needs students. Because of delays from the manufacturer, some buses are expected in November and others after the first of the year. Although they are scheduled to be replaced, Pace said the older buses could still be used to reduce current loads until the end of the school year. Adding buses, however, only increases the need for bus drivers already in short supply, he said.

In the meantime, efforts are being made to shorten some of the longest routes, Pace said.

``We are sensitive to the concerns of the parents,'' he said. ``Everyone in this office, we're flat killing ourselves to solve this problem.''

Mary Viau, who has a daughter in special education at Great Neck Middle School, said her child's busing situation has been fine. Her daughter spends about 35 minutes each way to and from their Kempsville home.

But Viau said she is concerned for other special education students and for what they and their families are going through.

``We realize as special education parents that we do have to give a little. These kids are being bused out of zone,'' she said.

But the amount of time has become excessive. ``We have kids sitting on buses for an hour and 45 minutes,'' Viau said. ``It's just not right.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MOTOYA NAKAMURA/The Virginia-Pilot

Jennifer Velez's 10-year-old son, Thomas, spends about 80 minutes

each way on a bus between their home and his classes at Pembroke

Elementary School. KEYWORDS: BUS RIDE

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