Some of my neighbors assume incorrectly that we can re-direct the millions of dollars that are spent yearly on busing for diversity to ensure equal quality of education in all of our neighborhood schools.

The facts, accessible from WCPSS and NCDPI Web sites/reports,are:

State funds pay for most transportation costs for N.C. school systems, so any savings would return to the state, not to Wake County.

The annual budget for busing all 75,000 students in Wake who ride buses is $56 million.

Growth is the "driver" of most assignment decisions. Only 1-2 percent (about 2,000 students) are assigned to improve socio-economicdiversity. So the savings by eliminating diversity busing would be less than 2 percent, as those students would still be bused to a school somewhere in Wake County.

Wake County spends about $50 less/student/year on busing than other large systems with neighborhood schools, fewer students, and much smaller land area than Wake.

We should applaud those who manage our WCPSS bus transportation plan for its consistent 100 percent efficiency rating from the state, which is certainly not an indicator of wasted money.

Lois Nixon

Cary

Editor's note: The writer was an unsuccessful candidate for the Wake County Board of Education from District 9.