(September 30, 2003) -- Ask yourself this: Do you find yourself left with no choice but to sit next to a stranger on the bus, rather than having the joy of being in a seat all to yourself? If sharing a seat isn’t part of your daily bus ride routine, maybe your friends aren’t as comfortable in the yellow Embree bus traveling down the highway next to you. Owing to the fiscal crisis in California, about $8 million has been cut from the Glendale Unified School District’s budget, including transportation money for Clark’s busing program.

Last spring, the school board took a tally of the number of students who rode the bus. New routes were chosen by the fewer number of students, then were merged, according to Assistant Principal Joan Shoff. Subsequently, routes 116 and 117 were merged with 106, while 111 and 113 were combined, saving $50,000.

A total of $650,000 was spent on transportation costs last year, however this year $100,000 was cut. In addition, two more bus routes have been combined, and the number of buses has decreased from a total of 17 to 15.

“It’s better to save money for the school so we can use it on other things when the time comes,” sophomore Aldrich Valera said.

Shoff said that several parents have arrived at school and pleaded for a chance to fit their children on a bus in any way possible, but because they have failed to respond sooner to the bus company for their children’s transportation needs, chances of getting on their preferred bus are slim. Although there are other bus routes with fewer students on a bus, some parents may not be willing to drop their children off to bus stops that are farther from their homes.

Students with other means of transportation and who have a bus pass “just in case” should inform the school, added Shoff, thereby allowing students who don’t have the opportunity to ride the bus because of overcrowding to be able to do so.