Mother raises concerns about bus delays in Jefferson City

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A lack of bus drivers has caused buses in the Jefferson City School District to be delayed on multiple occasions.

Christina Goodwin, a mother of a student at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, said there have been several times this year when the bus was a few minutes late picking up her son. However, the bus was 45 minutes late on Monday.

"The bus stop pickup is at 7:40 in the morning. This most recent incident, we did not get a text message until 8:09 a.m. from the bus, district, or First Student saying that the buses were running late," Goodwin said.

Goodwin said they were lucky in this situation, but as the winter storm moves in that adds another layer of concern.

"I'm thankful that my son is old enough to go home. We are literally right across the street from bus stop so he can go inside and watch for the bus had it been really cold or had it been raining or snowing, but what about the students that can't? I know that there was another parent that her child missed school that day," Goodwin said.

Frank Underwood, facilities director for the district, attributes the delays to staffing issues that have hit every sector hard this year, including school transportation.

"We are 21 drivers short right now and so when we have delays like that, one, we want you to know that we're getting them to school. We're getting them back home. We are transporting them," Underwood said.

Goodwin said she was also frustrated when her son was marked absent on Monday, despite the bus being delayed.

"I was prompted to call the school because my son was marked absent from homeroom."

Underwood said in this situation, the buses should notify the school when they are behind schedule and students should not be marked absent.

"Schools are notified, 'hey, you've got another bus that's going to come in however late it's going to be' and then they're there to greet them just like they would any other morning and then get them on to class," Underwood said.

The district also sends parents alerts.

"When the parent enrolls a student, they're automatically signed up for a notification system. So, that is through emails as well as phone calls and then if we have a cell phone, they get text messages as well," Underwood said.

Underwood agreed with parents that the communication could be better.

"The communication piece is huge whether the weather's 70 degrees outside or seven degrees outside we have to let the parents know where the bus is," Underwood said.

The district is looking for more drivers, with pay starting at $18 per hour.