Some parents in Eastlake want answers from their school district after they say the school bus their children typically ride has been arriving late once or twice a week.
The district says their buses have a 99-percent record of getting to their stops on time. But for some residents, that one-percent means their children have been getting to school late.
“I worried if they’re not being picked up, who's there with them.? We came and waited and the bus didn’t come until 8:36 a.m. School starts at 8:15 a.m.,” said mother Stephanie Teel.
Teel has three kids that attend Eastlake Middle School and says her kids have been up to an hour late to school because the buses aren't on time. On Tuesday, she says the bus came 40 minutes late. The district says their buses have only been late four times this year and that these are isolated incidents.
“The lateness occurred because of switching routes. We have to pick up more students so we changed our stops to pick up more students. We have been tweaking the route since the first break,” said Tom Calhoun, Chief Facilities Director, Sweetwater Union High School District.
The school district says this year has been hard on the bus system because of budget cuts. They have cut out seven of their regular routes and at the same time increased bus ridership by 1,000 students.
“The school is working with the kids because they know they are in these routes. It’s almost an expectation now for them to be late. It’s a disruption to the class,” said Teel.
The district says they have made changes to the bus routes over the school year to make the system more efficient but say they have always contacted parents regarding those changes.
However, the parents NBC 7 talked with say they have not received any form of communication from the district.
“We're going to work to resolve the issues. We investigate any issues by looking at the route and the driver. We look at impacts to the school like trying to get the kids to school on time. The most important thing is getting the kids to school on time so they can learn,” said Calhoun.
