Students may have to cross SR 580 next yearAbout 50 San Jose Elementary School students might have to cross five lanes of traffic to get to school next year. The Pinellas County School Board says there's been a transportation oversight. About 50 students, who live within a two mile radius of the school and shouldn't get transportation, have been riding the bus.
That bus service will be dropped next school year and families will have to find another option. One option is for students to cross busy State Road 580. Jason Lopez, a father of three, says that's unacceptable.
"You just can't have kids who don't know a lot about traffic trying to cross a busy street like that," Lopez said. "I'm fortunate to drop my kids off but some parents can't and rely on the bus to get their kids to school."
The School Board recommends hiring crossing guards and making changes to the infrastructure. Parents like Lopez say that's not enough. He'd rather the district fork over the $28,000 for another bus.
"If I'm the city of Dunedin I do what I have to do and I get a bus just to make sure they're safe," Lopez said.
The City Manager, and district traffic officials do not recommend the crossing guards and say that's not good enough. Now it's back to the drawing board. The city, school board, and school system are working together to find another option.
