Columbia Public Schools addresses first week bus issues

Thursday was Caden Conatser’s first day of kindergarten at West Boulevard Elementary in Columbia, but according to his parents, he ended his day on the wrong bus home from school.

“My concern was that the bus driver would stop somewhere and say ‘OK, kid this is your stop’ and he gets off the bus and all of a sudden, the bus drives off, there’s no one around and then you have a missing child,” said Caden’s father, Ricky Conatser.

Conatser said when Caden didn’t get off his bus, he and his wife called the school. Administrators admitted he might have gotten mixed into another bus line by accident.

Columbia Public Schools spokesperson Michelle Baumstark said with 9,000 students riding the bus every day, there are always some kinks to work out at the beginning of a new year.

“We always have a handful of things at the beginning of the year that our transportation coordinator as well as Student Transportation of America will work through to make sure we address those issues,” she said. “If there’s a common issue occurring, we want to resolve it as quickly as possible so it doesn’t continue.”

Baumstark said working with STA has been an easier and more efficient process than First Student. Last year was the bus company’s first year with Columbia Public Schools.

“It’s a significant improvement to where we were several years ago,” she said.

But even one child on the wrong bus is a concern for the district, so Baumstark encourages parents to immediately call STA or the school if something’s wrong.

Conatser said he hopes the district and STA will be more vigilant in the coming weeks.

“You gotta make sure that those children get where they need to go,” he said. “If we’re concerned about bullying in schools, why should we not be just as concerned about making sure they’re in the proper line for the proper bus 100 percent of the time and not turn our back for one second.”

You can call the STA office at 573-214-3860 with any questions or issues. The district can be reached at 573-214-3400