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The Wheels On The Bus

 


There’s the good news and the bad news. The bad news?

A Howard County school bus went the wrong way. Students intervened. Jess Nocera, Baltimore Banner 

After Tuesday’s dismissal, a bus carrying Glenwood Middle School students ended up going on an unexpected journey to get home. Instead of taking the usual route, their bus driver brought them across county lines into neighboring Carroll County on Route 97.

That’s alarming. 

The good news?  There’s no stupid-ass comments on this story at the Banner website.

Yet.

Having been on field trips with a bus load of preschoolers - - when you realize the bus driver is either lost or just plain going to the wrong place - - I know that creepy feeling in the pit of one’s stomach as the minutes tick on. Do I say anything? Is this an alternate route I’m not aware of? Will the bus driver bite my head off if I attempt to intervene?

Now imagine you’re not an adult. 

I have seen comments elsewhere that this is a good argument in favor of young people having cell phones. Honestly I can’t argue with that. 

I’m glad that everyone got home safely. 

In the last several years Howard County has had some weird and frustrating school bus experiences. Our school system is heavily dependent on buses. Hiring a transportation company from out of state (Zum) brought with it a whole new assortment of challenges.

Still, as I look back over the years, I think that truly alarming incidents have been rare. That’s also good news. People who like to assemble charts of statistics could probably present any number of bar graphs analyzing the actual numbers and framing it according to their underlying assumptions.

The truth is that, no matter what the numbers are, all that matters to you is if it’s your kid on that bus. 


Village Green/Town² Comments 


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  1. Julia A. McCreadySeptember 12, 2026 at 4:50 AM

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