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Intro

Nelson Mandela, president of South Africa, once said, Safety and security don't just
happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children,
the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear" (Johannesburg child
welfare society UK, 2013,1). Yet, according to the FBI every 40 seconds in the United States, a
child becomes missing or is abducted (Bilich, 2012,1). The most targeted group for child
abductions tend to be school children that live in metropolises, such as the city of Dallas. Thus,
when Dallas ISD started using car services, for financial reasons, to pick up children to go to
school, parents were anxious.
When the new school year started, parents were shocked to learn that their children
would not be picked up by the former school buses. Yet, what was more alarming was that
Dallas ISD took it upon itself to make drastic changes without informing the community. As a
result, a myriad of concerns arose regarding the safety and efficiency of the program. One of the
major concerns the parents have is that since no identifications were required to drive the kids,
and anyone could be driving the cars, which poses a threat to the safety of children.
DISD has also increased the number of routes, which would accommodate more children
by taking them to and from school much faster. However, not considering the reaction from the
public was a major miscalculation. According to Susan Falvo, chief of staff for Dallas County
Schools, The providers have 425 routes for 2,190 students. Thats an increase from last years
100 routes for 500 students, most of whom were homeless children who needed rides (Hobbs,
2013). DISD planned a radical change for over 2,000 students on their first day of school.
Children walked out of their homes expecting to ride in the big yellow bus, but were shocked,
along with their parents, to see large SUVs, white vans, and taxi cabs parked in their front yard.
Children were hesitant to climb in a car and ride with a stranger, for good reason. Parents
generally teach their children to avoid unknown people especially when they are alone. Long
term result could be impressionable children developing misconceptions that can be damaging
far into the future.

Opposition to this change grew very quickly, mainly due to concerns for safety.
Furthermore, the new alternative transportation had problems from the outset. As the first week
progressed, there were complaints that children were picked up late, dropped home hours after
school was over, and routes were confused. Things are happening every day and theres no way
in the world I am going to just put [my kids] off on somebody else, said Lakendra Williams, a
DISD parent. I am going to make sure mine get to school and back home safely (Diaz &
Moore, 2013). One girl did not get home until three hours after she was supposed to be home,
and when she got home she was dropped off in a taxi cab by two men that she had never seen
before. These children are being picked up by different drivers, and are not afforded the same
peace of mind as when a person is designated the bus driver and a sense of developed familiarity.
As one parent said it was hard to let her go with this person because you dont know this
person. He didnt identify himself, and besides, he didnt know what school he was going to.
Many other issues included; expired inspection stickers, drivers without proper identification,
cars not labeled as part of the Dallas County Schools, and different vehicles picking up children
every day, including those who would substitute missed rides because of improperly planned
routes. Taxi services from different agencies also showed up in front of school to transport kids.
Finally, many parents argue that with traditional buses, the public knows that there are school
children riding and as such will generally be more careful, but with different cars, SUVs, and
taxi rides taking kids, people would not take as many precautions as they might have. Moreover,
the passenger vans that the companies are using have been heavily criticized as not only unsafe
but illegal as well. Dallas Attorney Todd Tracy has extensive knowledge of the danger
associated with passenger vans with the potential for rollovers and roof crush-in-accidents.
According to him, Not only is it a violation of law, I cant imagine the Dallas Independent
School District allowing such conduct to take place because they are jeopardizing and placing
our children at risk, (Shipp, 2013). The white vans are not designed for school transportation
and they do not have the safety features that traditional buses do. The National Association of
State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services says Passenger vans are not required to be
manufactured to the same federal motor vehicle safety standards as traditional yellow school
buses. These vehicles do not provide the same degree of occupant protection to passengers.
Additionally, bus drivers are trained to deal with whatever emergencies may happen while
children ride the bus, unlike random car drivers, who might not know how to deal with the needs
of a child.


PROPOSAL

The reason that DISD decided to switch to private transportation was because of budget
cuts, we are going to try to raise the extra money needed to fund for school buses. The full day
fundraiser will be at The American Airlines Center. During the day, we are going to have an
outdoor day event from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. There will be Dallas Maverick players signing
autographs and taking pictures from 1p.m to 3p.m. Donate $5 to get a player day event t-shirt
autograph and $2 to have your photo taken with a player. We will also be having a raffle
drawing. Each ticket will cost a dollar donation, and at the end of the day we are going to have 3
drawings. The prizes will include game tickets, front row seat tickets, and season tickets.
We are also going to have different food stands set up throughout the event. We will be
selling hot dogs, hamburgers, and different types of drinks. There is also going to be a bake sale
going on throughout the day. All proceeds from the event will be towards donations to the DISD
budget.
Entertainment for the families will consist of bounce houses and face paintings for the
kids. Also, there are going to be basketball goals set up so people can play mini games, and
maybe get a couple of the Dallas Maverick players to go out and shoot around with participants.
While the kids are getting there face painted, or playing basketball, the parents can go to
the transportation demonstration that will be set up. We are going to have a school bus and van
displayed at the event. This is so that we can show people all the different safety features that a
school bus has that those small passenger vans do not. We will also have a kid safety
demonstration for the parents and kids. They are going to go over different ways that kids can
stay safe while walking to school, and what to look for if an unmarked van or SUV comes to
pick you up for school.
After the outdoor event ends at 6, the indoor night event will start. The night event will
be formal. The guest attending the night event will be going to be invitation only. To get in each
ticket is going to cost a $100 donation, which should be paid beforehand. Incase some guests
arrive only for the indoor night event; we will have valets available to take their cars to our
reserved parking spaces. Moreover, there is going to be an open bar from 6 to 7. At seven we
will be providing a cirque de soleil performance for our guest. When the performance finishes at
8 everyone will go to their assigned table and sit down for dinner in the dinning area. The guests
will be provided with a fixed menu that considers dietary restrictions. They will also been given
the option to specify what food they would like to order, once they have paid for their ticket.
While dinner is going on the auction will start. The different items being auctioned off are going
to vary from having dinner with a specific player, signed memorabilia, to having basketball
practice with a specific player. We will also be auctioning off art pieces, which we would have
used to adorn our hallways. The dinner and auction will go on until 10 p.m., which would signal
the end of the party.

Staffing
Day Event
Dallas mavericks players
7-10 volunteered Dallas maverick players will show up to the event and sign autographs for the
people in the community that attend the event. The players will help entice people to show up at
the event to promote the awareness of school transportation safety. The players have a chance to
build the fan base of the team and build the community reputation for the individual player
participating.
The project will help the Dallas mavericks become a team of the community
Production
Administrative staff
The Administrative Manager and the administrative staff directs, coordinates community event
activities. The administrative staffs adhere to processes and policies, sponsoring cost budgeting
and tracking activities.
ADMINISTRATIVE FEE:
Required: 1 Administrative manager and 3 administrative staff directors
The administrative fee ranges from $84 - $609 and is based on the complexity of the event and
the staff hours required processing the application. The administrative fee is non-refundable.
Project Scheduler
The Project Scheduler is responsible for coordinating and managing the project plan. Develop a
project schedule by identifying dependencies and risks between the project schedules. The
scheduler needs to make sure that Dallas area and American Airlines can be incorporated to plan
on the event schedule.
Required: 1 event planner.
Hourly consultations with an event planner typically cost $40 -$250 per hour. For $100 per hour,
Technical Manager
The Technical Manager is responsible for the full day activities by setting up the stage for
performance and display. Project Manager needs to establish and execute technical policies,
processes, and procedures.
Setup crew:
A crew to setup the tents and put stage equipment.
Stage costs: $21,000 including delivery
Face painters:
50 hired face painters in a booth to paint kids faces. Providing the kids joy by painting their
faces and showing the parents that the event is intended towards the kids safety and wellbeing.
Per person event:
$5 for full face designs
$2 for smaller check designs

***2 hour minimum booking
An average of 15 faces per hour will be painted
Hand out shirts:
3 volunteered staff workers will be on duty to hand out free communit y event t-shirts to event
attendees.
Merchandise attendants:
5 Maverick store attendants will sell maverick apparel that would be revenue sales at the event
for the Mavericks.
Performers
The people performing will get exposure in the community to help market there talent to the
public. The performers will add to the overall community atmosphere of the event with live
music performances. The performers will perform songs that will help put people in an upbeat
mood to increase participation among the event.
Night Event
Event leader:
The event leader is charge the auction setup.
The project will help create add or increase fan excitement for the team
Food vending:
Concession attendants: During the night event we will need about 50 servers to wait on the 200-
500 people attending the auction. Serving the customers by taking orders and proving meals and
beverages.




























References


Bilich, K. (2012, October). Child abduction facts. Some important information about
kidnapping in the U.S, 1-1. Retrieved from
http://www.parents.com/kids/safety/stranger-safety/child-abduction- facts/

Johannesburg child welfare society UK.(2013).Fixing Joburg for our inner city
children 1-1. Retrieved from http://www.jhbchildwelfare.org.za/index.php/news- uk/74-
fixingjoburgforourinnercitychildren

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