Two weeks ago, my daughter Dawn's second grade class went on a field trip to the Cernan Space Center at Triton College. Originally, Dawn wasn't going to go because the school buses that her school charters for field trips do not have seat belts. Dawn won't ride on a school bus without seat belts because it's not safe.
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I decided to intervene. I found a way to get school buses with seat belts for Dawn's school at the same price as school buses without seat belts. I then convinced the principal of Dawn's school to switch to the school buses with seat belts. Dawn was happy. She was finally going to be able to go on a field trip with her buddies because the school was finally going to use school buses with seat belts.
When the superintendent of the school district found out that the principal of Dawn's school had changed the policy at that school, the superintendent revoked the new policy, citing concern that I had engineered a back-door way of enhancing the safety of district students. If other schools in the district found out that Dawn's school got school buses with seat belts, then all the other schools would probably do the same thing. This would be a back-door way of changing the policy district-wide, rather than having the school board change the policy. This could not be allowed to take place, because the right of the school board to dictate policy was certainly more important than protecting the lives and the safety of the students.
Dawn, who is seven years old, decided that she wasn't going to take that kind of crap from the superintendent. Dawn asked me what the procedure was to go over the superintendent's head. I told her that she could take the matter up directly with the school board at the next school board meeting. I also explained to her how to structure her presentation and what components to include.
Dawn wrote, in her own words, the message that she wanted to deliver to the school board. On Thursday, March 15th, she went to the school board meeting. During "Communications from Citizens," here's what Dawn said:
My name is Dawn Sherman. I am in Second Grade at (deleted) School. My teacher is Miss L---. I like Miss L---.
Yesterday, my class went on a field trip. I refused to go because the school bus did not have seat belts.
It is not safe to ride in a school bus that does not have seat belts. Would you ride in a car without seat belts? If it is not safe for you to ride in a car without seat belts, then it is not safe for me to ride in a school bus without seat belts, either.
I am an atheist. If I die when the school bus crashes, I will have no place to go, so I do not want to die, yet.
Please require that school buses used on field trips have seat belts.
Thank you.
The school board was so impressed by Dawn's presentation that they decided to conduct a new, intensive study into the merits of requiring school buses used by the schools of the district to have seat belts. They promised to come up with a decision this year, either by the end of this school in June or by the time school resumes in the fall.
I'm so very proud of Dawn. It seems that she's turning out to be just like me!
On a separate matter, you will find, back on my home page, an announcement of my first candidacy for public office. I have always demonstrated the same kind of persistence to improve our lives that Dawn demonstrated in this report. That's the kind of persistence that I will demonstrate in public office if elected next week. I once again thank the sponsors of this web site, the sponsors of my radio show, and the customers of my travel agency for making it possible for me to do the things that I do to make our good community even better.
Rob Sherman P. O. Box
7410
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089-7410
A post office box is used
because
the street address uses a curb mail box,
which is not secure.
Telephone: (847) 870-0700
Fax: (847) 870-1156
E-mail: rob followed by the at symbol followed by robsherman dot com