Six John Marshall High School students with infants...Now that is truly a shame!
Posted on 12/16/2004 6:12:29 AM PST by mountaineer
MOUNDSVILLE - Six John Marshall High School students with infants are expected to participate in a day care program when it begins operation at the school in January. At issue is finding a way to transport both the students and their children to and from the school.
On the agenda for the Marshall County Board of Education's consideration this week was granting permission to purchase infant seats to be placed on school buses.
The administrator of the West Virginia Partnership to Assure Student Success, who was responsible for requesting the item, was not present at the regular meeting Tuesday to make a formal presentation to the board, so the matter was tabled.
Schools Transportation Director Bruce Mosa - who announced Tuesday that he is retiring on June 30 - did speak to the issue, however, and made it obvious that he did not feel placing infants on high school buses was a good plan of action.
"We need to look at some alternative," Mosa said. "I don't think it's a proper atmosphere for infants."
Some of the negative aspects Mosa outlined Tuesday were matters of federal law and the weak immune systems of infant children riding on a bus surrounded by coughing and sneezing high school students.
Mosa said that federal law requires that the school bus seat behind the one where a mother and child are sitting must be left vacant. Mosa said that as the winter wears on and road conditions have the potential to be hazardous, the population of students riding buses to high school increases and as many seats as possible are necessary to accommodate them.
Also at issue were some of the lengths of the bus routes in the county. Schools Interim Superintendent Fred Renzella said Wednesday that one bus route is around 53 miles round trip. Should an infant have an accident during such a long bus ride, there would be the matter of the comfort of the students on the bus.
"That would be a very long ride," Renzella said.
Some of the routes also are not in the best of shape, Renzella said.
Alternatives that are available to the board are reimbursements to the student mothers or their parents for transporting infants to the day care room at John Marshall, Renzella said. Another alternative would be to contract with a local service that provides such transportation.
Renzella said the WVPASS grant has been used to fund the latter mode of transportation for the past two years for other purposes.
Currently, the county is not responsible for transporting infant children of students to a day care facility. Teen mothers are transported, however, to a facility in Glen Dale. When the day care room opens up at John Marshall sometime next month, the infants will be transferred there. Crittenton Services Inc. will staff the day care.
The board of education tabled the matter until members could receive more information on the bus routes, the number of children riding the buses and the costs of infant seats for the buses.
Board member David Hall said that "we have to be able to get the child and mother" to and from the school to give the teen mother a greater opportunity to graduate - one of the primary functions of the WVPASS programs.
Sheesh.
I guess it is no longer embarrassing to be a pregnant teen, mother out of wedlock. I'm not that old, graduated in 87 and it was somewhat of a disgrace then.
I grad. in 1969 and it was a shock back then, and a shame. But at least maybe these kids are doing the right thing and taking care of their babies and not aborting them.
Why?
No offense, mountaineer, but you guys already have a tough time with stereotypes. This seems to be piling on...
As many have observed, the problem here is that unwed pregnancy no longer is an embarrassment to the girls and the boys who impregnated them. Instead, it's almost a badge of honor, and the notion that school districts or states should fund day care, car seats and transportation, when most of these girls already are receiving govt. benefits like Medicaid, food stamps, WIC, AFDC, should irritate any responsible taxpayer.
So the school can request MORE buses.
I don't know why, but I am mildly surprised that Congress (apparently, unless this really is a fed. regulation) thought this was such an overwhelmingly important issue to address - let alone a matter for the federal government's concern.
New Jersey: 60/100
New York 58/100
Washington DC: 50/100
Massachusetts: 50/100
Maryland: 48/100
These are ABORTION RATIOS for women 15-19! I think it is true that Democrats are aborting themselves into the minority. What an eye-opener, mountaineer.
Although it is sad that the national average is 33/100, these numbers are just sickening. Almost half or more of pregnancies between 15 and 19 years old end in abortion? Haven't these young women ever heard of adoption?
Why bother, when the gubmint will provide food, shelter, medical care, etc., and free transportation to free daycare, to boot? (I share your sentiments).
Six John Marshall High School students with infants...Now that is truly a shame!
As it should be and the way it should stay.
I got out of high school in 1986. We had one - ONE - girl turn up pregnant (and it was zero surprise when she did), and she "left town" for a semester and a half and came back thin and babyless. (I think she was at DePelchin, myself.)
I was talking to a woman in the office - probably about your age - about this story, and she told a similar tale. It wasn't all that long ago that those teens who had babies gave them up for adoption or, at least, didn't expect the school district to help care for them!
Wow...you look much younger! ;-)
Gonna hit 36 in less than two weeks. You're sweet!
Wow! I'd have guessed you at 28 - 30 tops.
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