The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-11-24
BUS SERVICE FOR
 SCHOOL CHILDREN
Much Merit in Petition Signed By Residents of
 Bunker Hill
UP TO OFFICIALS

With a view to getting a line on the need of bus service for @ num-
 Der of children attending the Bun ker Hill school, member of the school house committee of the board of education went over the district yesterday with Truant Off, cer Donahue. After going through the different streets any where from a mile and half to over two miles from the school, one readily sees that sending children to school that distance during the winter. especially over rough roads in- wolves hardship which they should not be subjected to, that is if it possibly can be avoided and not keep them at home.
 The question difficult to answer is what route should bus take. When you talk with people they are likely to be influenced by where they live themselves. but eliminating the personal element and looking at 1t in an impartial way one comes to the conclusion that if a bus should operate on Bunker Hill avenue as far as there are school children, 1t would be a great help. The children could walk from the side streets to the different points along Bunker Hill avenue where they would be pick ed up and carried to the school. Of course in some instances this would necessitate long tramps for small children. Even at that, Bun
 ker Hill avenue is the main thor oughfare in that part of the city, is in good condition for bus travel and 1t would be great relief 1T the children were carried from the l different points along that place
 to and from the school building.
 A call was made at the Roose-
 welt school. After going through | the building one sees nothing 10 find fault with except that 1t is too small. It is we'll arranged, neatly kept but should be at least twice its present size. All told there are 6 couple of dozen or more streets in the terri tory where the bus service Is asked for, most of them but sparsely settled, but the number of boys and girls seen about the door yards furnish abundant proof of the need of some means or gettlng them to and from the school. The homes in the different streets show evidence of good taste, and 1udg- ing by the appearance Of the chii. dren their health has not suffered on account of the long hikes to and from the school, although the older folks tell sad stories Of the
 hardships children are subjected to going over the roadways In all kinds of weather.
 The petition for the bus has been referred to the school house com mittee with power to act. The committee has already passed fa- vorably on it provided an item Tor this purpose is included in the
 No matter how the school off cials may economize, more scnools will have to be built in Waterbury in the near future or bus service will have to be used more generally than ever before. This is not due to a lack of school buildings, but
 rather to the shifting of schooi population. What is true of cer- tain portions of Bunker Hill IS true of all the outside districts or the city. People are leaving the congested areas and getting out in- to, the open. One may say the city should not be expected to follow families who locate long distances from the improved parts or the .community with schools and other things that make for good citizen- ship. Well, there are two sides to this. You don't hear anypooy talking about distance from the City Hall when there Is a call 10 arms for defenders of the nation.