ELLENVILLE – Brian Nunez feels as if he's kept up his end of the bargain. The Ellenville High School senior carries an A-/B+ average; he's a top athlete who plays both offense and defense for the football team; he is, by any measure, a well-rounded student who exemplifies the best Ellenville High School has to offer.

But Nunez feels let down by the school. The reason for this is simple: the district, due to budget constraints, canceled the 5:45 p.m. school bus that Nunez would use to return to his home in Wurtsboro. As a result, he has been forced to bum rides off friends — or worse, to ride his bicycle approximately 13 miles along Route 209.

In previous school years, the football team scheduled its practices to coincide with the departure of the late bus at 5:45 p.m. But only a few athletes took advantage of this, given that most live much closer to the village and many others have their own car.

The Nunez family, unfortunately, is not at this time in a financial position where they can afford to get Brian a car. Brian's father, Adalid Nunez, is also having trouble with his night vision and therefore cannot drive at night. And Brian's mother, Irma, has no driver's license. Hence, Brian was left to fend for himself and get home any way he could, including the dreaded bike ride on Route 209.

"I try not to do it in the dark," Nunez says about the ride. "It's a little dangerous on 209; you can't really trust people."

Brian's mother, Irma, says that Brian would sometimes take the tow path on the old D&H Canal, but that the winding nature of the path made the trip nearly twice as long as the one along Route 209. She also said that she feels let down by the school.

"When [Brian] told me they cancelled the bus, I was disappointed," she says.

She even went so far as to consider telling Brian that he could not go out for sports this year. But then she realized that this was his final year in high school, and that he loved his sports (Brian also participates in track and field), so she relented. She also realized that Brian not participating in sports could have an impact on potential college applications, as many universities make a point of recruiting students who participate in athletiics. Not playing in his senior year could have left Brian at a disadvantage.

School superintendent Lisa Wiles said that this was the first that she had heard about Brian's specific problem, and that she would talk to Ellenville High School Athletic Director Mary Borriello about taking measures to see that Brian isn't left stranded.

As to the cancellation of the bus, Wiles said that the school board did everything in its power to ensure that parents and students had a chance to weigh in on the matter.

"This is something that we went over during last year's budget process," Wiles said.

The district solicited feedback in the form of a letter that was sent home, and there were a number of meetings that were televised locally. Despite this, no one came forward to express opposition. Wiles also said that the district is currently under a great deal of financial strain, given the cost-cutting measures that are emanating from Albany. She said that the school district bent over backwards to keep taxes down, but that cuts were inevitable

. "We had to cut somewhere," Wiles said.

Brian's mother Irma, however, wonders sometimes whether the school district could be spending in a more equitable manner the tax dollars it collects.

"Where does all the money go?" she asked.