BATAVIA, Ohio — For some students in the Tri-State, walking or taking the bus to school are not options. And that means some parents have an extra errand to run every day.
Make that two errands: taking the kids to school, and picking the kids up from school.
School bus rides are not offered to Rosie Briggs’ West Clermont High School students.
“It’s a need that is screaming out loud,” Briggs said. “It’s something that we could really use but, you know, West Clermont does a lot with nothing. We’re lucky that we have full bus service from kindergarten through eighth grade.”
Briggs lives in Milford, but picks up her kids in Withamsville to take them to West Clermont High School.
“That can be a lot of wear and tear on a vehicle,” she said. “But it’s worth it because my kids are at school everyday. They’re getting their education.”
Briggs decided to try to fix the problem to help out her family and other families in the district. She created a Facebook group dedicated to helping parents create a carpool system for their high school students who don’t take the bus.
Parents can post what neighborhood they live in, and whether they can pick up or drop off students — or both.
Briggs uses some of her personal time to maintain the Facebook group, even making suggestions to parents when she sees an opportunity for a carpool. But the page saves her and other parents additional stress.
“I’m just happy that kids are getting to school,” Briggs told WCPO. “That’s the most important thing. Is that parents have one more space where they can coordinate and help other kids in the neighborhood get to school every day.”
Briggs encourages other parents to attend school board meetings in hopes an operational levy passes soon.
“In a perfect world, we’d bring busing back at full capacity,” she said.
Briggs said the group is pushing 450 members. The Facebook group is called West Clermont High School Carpool. Parents must make a request to join the group. Information about a student’s neighborhood is not made public.
