Every afternoon, Crystal Hampton leaves work to pick up her sixth grader from school. Hampton, a single mother, picks her daughter up from the Extended Day Enrichment Program, which her child attends at an additional cost, and drops her off at their home before returning to work.
Hampton lives with her three children in Suburban Heights, a neighborhood in northwest Gainesville. Living just under 2 miles from Westwood Middle School, her daughter is not eligible to ride the bus. Florida law only requires public school buses be provided for students who live 2 or more miles from their school.
Hampton initially requested courtesy bus service for her middle-schooler, but was denied. She then requested her child be allowed to walk to the nearest bus stop and get the bus there. This request was also denied, she said, with the county citing a lack of bus drivers…