School Zones

I am baffled by the state of Florida and it's description and use of school zones. I was mistakenly under the impression that 20 mph is the speed limit around a school during certain periods of the day. Seems to make sense. Well, not here. Private schools apparently don't count as schools or are viewed as "less" than worthy of school zone signs and speed limits. Consequently, cars regularly roar by doing 50 mph or more - at the school I work for.

Thanks to the constant hounding of a lobbyist, whose grandson attends our school, we now have the city's attempt of school zone signage - we have inherited a winky-blinky light. I've noticed that the two blinking lights were removed from the public school down the road; they had four blinky lights. Two not only informed traffic of an upcoming school, but also warned them to slow down to 30 mph. After these two introductory warning devices, another set of blinking lights warned drivers to slow down to 20 mph. Our school is now the proud possessor of two winky-blinky lights telling drivers to slow down to 30 mph. Are you confused? I am. I guess 30 mph is better than 50 mph, but what about 20 mph like other schools? Are our kids less special or less "kid-like" than other kids? The kids at our school are dyslexic; they require specialized teaching techniques that aren't offered in the public school system.

Irregardless of which school a child attends, they are still children. They are all worthy of extra caution and awareness from drivers.