Church Offers Kids Ride To School After Bus Service Stopped

A local church is now helping dozens of Orange County students avoid a dangerous walk to school.

Pastor William Andrews is offering the Heart of Mercy church bus as a way for some students to get to Ivey Lane Elementary School. He did this after the school district stopped offering bus services to kids who live within two miles of the school.

Without the bus the kids would have to cross six lanes on Colonial Drive, and Pastor Andrews says cars are not the only danger.

"Between Mercy Drive and Ivey Lane School there's 131 sexual predators that are registered in this area, and that's where they'd be walking…right through that area," said Pastor Andrews, Heart of Mercy Community Church.

The school district says it had to discontinue busing when construction in the area no longer created a hazardous condition. It also points out crossing guards have now been placed on Colonial Drive.