the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Mar 25, 2024
Students with disabilities in Washington, D.C. are far too often picked up late or never by school buses, and a group of parents sued the city government in March to provide more reliable service. The basic problem? The city doesn’t hire enough school bus drivers and attendants.
D.C. public schools count over 3,300 disabled students who can’t easily ride the subway or commuter buses, plus hundreds more at dozens of charter schools. The city’s school buses have to take disabled students to more than 200 public, charter, and private schools in the city and to schools in Maryland and Virginia where parents may transfer their disabled children. It’s more than 500 routes covering more than 25,000 miles daily. But this volume doesn’t excuse how many delays and cancellations these children and their families have had to experience: over 1,000 in the first five months of this school year.
D.C. is short at least 75 drivers and 90 attendants this winter, around one in eight positions. And the city seems to have cut several hundred positions over the last decade. These are 35 hour a week jobs, not even full time. So, hire drivers, and pay a decent wage. What our tax money should be used for!