I recently learned about the proposed policy to discontinue busing for children within a certain mile radius of their school. Ironically, I learned about this on the 10th anniversary of the passing of my beloved son, Joseph Yaghoobzar. While crossing the street on his way back from school (merely 10 minutes away from our apartment at the time), my 12-year-old son was struck and killed by a passing driver.

Joseph, a beautiful and caring soul, a child so full of life, had his whole life ahead of him. He would have been 22 this year; a college graduate moving on to earn an advanced degree. Instead, during the few seconds it took him to cross the street, he passed on at his young age due to a horrific accident, leaving behind all his unfulfilled dreams and aspirations and, with him, all my dreams for him.

As you can imagine, after Joe's passing our family's lives changed forever. For years I couldn't face his classmates as it would remind me of that tragic day. And even now, 10 years since his death, I still have difficulty passing by the crossroad where he was hit. I sincerely do not wish to see another family go through a similar pain and sorrow.

I think it is fate that I learned about this proposal exactly on the 10th year I mourn for my son. And I would like to take this opportunity to express my serious concerns about this proposal in the hope that concerned parents and other residents will think twice about its potential ill consequences and vote against it. In this day and age when in many families both parents work to support their household, not everyone has the luxury or the time to be available to drive their children back and forth from school. I strongly believe that if such a policy were passed, it could lead to other accidents involving our children (or other potential harm that could result from strangers coming into contact with them on their walk to and from school).

We all, in our own ways, consciously or subconsciously put a "price" on things, but the safety of our children should not be one of them. I would pay anything to have my son back; unfortunately I can't. But we can collectively make a difference and maintain some minimal level of security for our children - no matter how close they live to the school. Maintaining Universal Busing is just a small price to pay for the protection of our most valued treasures.

Please make sure to vote no on Proposition 4 and keep Universal Busing in the Roslyn School District.

Nazilla Yaghoobzar