Students and floods

Rumors that schoolchildren had been let off school buses to wade through floodwaters to get home during the March 18 deluge in Cape Girardeau raised the ire of many concerned parents who feared the same thing might happen to their own children. Most people who heard the story thought the students were elementary students. In fact, they were junior high and senior high school students. But that really doesn't matter. No student should be expected to wade through floodwater. Ever.

Let's hope that's the lesson that has been learned by all drivers for First Student, which is the company the Cape Girardeau School District contracts to provide bus service. The driver involved in the March 18 incident has been disciplined.

Parents and students also need to be fully informed about the district's policy of sending all students unable to reach their designated drop-off locations to the junior high school on Caruthers Avenue, where they can be kept safe until they are picked up by parents or other responsible parties.