Students returned to the Weatherly school district two weeks ago, and parents are already concerned about their children on the long bus ride to the middle and elementary schools.

One mother spoke directly to the school board during Wednesday night's regular meeting.Maureen Collins of White Haven, along with other parents of children on the 5 and 7 buses, are concerned for their children on the 45-minute ride to the school. With only the bus driver to watch over the children, parents worry about bullying taking place.Collins requested the board put an aide on each bus as a preventive measure."Buses 5 and 7 are long trips, but even on the five- to 10-minute trips there are still issues. Buses for special needs do not have aides either. Stuff goes on the bus like bullying or kids eating on the bus when other kids have allergies. We are going to have a parent in here every meeting until it is resolved," Collins said.Board President Girard Fewins agreed there had been problems but that "new rules have been put in place," he said.Elementary and Middle School Principal Sandra Slavick also tried to allay Collins' concerns."I have heard they are sticking to their seating charts. And there are cameras on the bus," she told Collins."We want to prevent incidents before they happen. Kids could be in their seats and still be bullying other kids. It's not fair to the kids or the bus driver," Collins said.Transportation Chairman Gerard Grega asked Collins if she would be willing to volunteer."I'd love to but I'm physically unable to do it. I'm on disability right now," she said."I'll look at volunteers, but to just provide somebody paid in case things happen, it's not cost effective for the district," Grega said."I don't agree with dealing with incidents after they happen. A kid ate a peanut butter candy on the bus. My son is allergic to peanuts and no one had an EpiPen," she said.Fewins told Collins that the bus company had been brought in before the board to discuss new rules. "We brought the company in in the beginning of the year. It's not like we haven't done anything," he said.Board member Edward Snyder assured Collins that issues brought to the board's attention would be handled. "If we've gone through the steps and things are brought to us, we correct them. This school district just can't afford another person on the bus, and kids are still going to be kids," he said.Collins said, "Kids are going to be kids, but for buses 5 and 7 we need to prevent incidents, otherwise the bus company and school could be sued because proper steps weren't taken."Fewins said, "The company was supposed to separate the kids by age."Slavick told the board that the company had separated the children accordingly."Every year it's progressively worse," Collins said."Is it the same kids?" Board Vice President Amy Potsko asked."It's a group of them," Collins said."You just said it's getting worse, but we just heard it's better, we have had no incidents so far," Board member William Gerhard said.Grega said, "We have policies in place now. We can't prevent everything from happening everywhere."Collins said, "I know, but last year kids were bullied and punched."Potsko asked, "Maybe parents need to step in and do something. Can we send a memorandum out?"Collins said, "We get one every year, we know the rules."Potsko said, "Well, we've got policies in place, let's give it a chance to see if it works."Slavick promised to have a group discussion with the children from buses 5 and 7 to talk about any issues.