Twiggs County Family Wants School Board to Move School Bus Stop Back to their Driveway

JEFFERSONVILLE, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A Twiggs County family pleads with the school board to change where their kids are being picked up and dropped off by the school bus.

Earlier this month, 41NBC brought you the story of the Hester family, who was upset about a decision the school board made to have their kids picked up and dropped off almost two miles from their house.

The kids’ grandfather, Sammy Hester, and their mother, Dianna Hester, say the school board made the wrong decision after a dump truck went around a school bus that was stopped at their driveway earlier this month.

The Hesters say the accident could have happened anywhere, and the move makes it hard on them to get the kids to and from school.  They also say they’re having to spend extra money on gas they can’t afford.

The school board says safety is its No. 1 priority.

“We’re going to get together as a board,” says chairwoman of the school board, Terralon Chaney.  “We’re going to meet with our interim superintendent, who’s out of town at this time, and we’re going to discuss it and we’re going to get with the transportation director and our chief of police.  We’re going to look at it to see what we need to do to also try to provide some convenience for the parents at that bus stop.”

The Hesters have also been in touch with the Georgia Department of Transportation about the issue.

Mr. Hester says there is about two tenths of a mile of visibility where the family’s driveway is located on Highway 80, which he says GDOT told him is enough for a school bus to stop safely.