As a result of the statewide budget shortfall that hit California earlier this year, the Campbell Union High School District eliminated general bus services to Westmont High School in the fall, leaving parents of as many as 35 students asking the Valley Transportation Authority to fill the void.

Joan Cornbleet was among them.

Cornbleet was able to plan around the loss of the bus service by giving her daughter a ride to school in the mornings, but she felt she was one of only a few parents who could afford to do so.

"I'm lucky because I don't have to punch in a timecard every day to work," she said. "But a lot of working parents aren't so fortunate."

When Cornbleet received word from the high school in August that the district would eliminate student bus services, she said she immediately began to spearhead an effort to find an alternative means of transportation. After receiving support from the Westmont High School Parent Teacher Student Association, she launched a campaign to get parents involved in an effort to ask the VTA for help.

About 35 parents answered her call, requesting that the VTA re-route bus line 60 to serve the high school.

"I've written to them, emailed them and called them. But they turned down our request because of budgetary issues," Cornbleet said.

The VTA looked into the problem, but as it stands the request isn't workable, said VTA spokeswoman Kat Mereigh.

"In order to do this, we would have to re-route the line one mile away from Winchester Boulevard, then re-route it one mile back again," she said. "That would involve an investment in new bus facilities, and the streets that the buses would use would have to be fitted with added pavement, sidewalks and bus stops."

And the VTA just doesn't have the funds for that at this time, she said.

She suggested alternate routes to the high school—through bus lines 26 or 82 and then a transfer to bus line 57—adding that by January, a schedule modification will make transferring smoother.

Cornbleet said none of the alternatives she's heard about were reasonable.

"They've suggested alternate routes, but they're no good, because the buses are going in a completely different direction," she said.

And that's only part of the problem, she said. Even if students were to take the suggested routes, they still would have a long way to walk from the bus stop to the school.

"The VTA doesn't serve Westmont very well," said Paul Nagle, the Campbell Union High School District coordinator for transportation. "The closest stop is about half a mile away."

Although general transportation services had to be eliminated because of budget cuts, transportation for some students continues.

For example, transportation for field trips and athletic teams is still offered, Nagle said, but the groups that use the buses pay for the services themselves. And transportation for special-education students has generally been left intact because those services are part of a statewide mandate.

He said he's heard that the general services might be restarted if the economy improves.

"But the budget crunch isn't getting any better," he said. "And I haven't heard of anything concrete yet."

In the meantime, Cornbleet is encouraging more parents to call or write to the VTA with their comments and suggestions.

To voice your concerns call the VTA at 408.321.2300.