SUGAR LAND, Texas — Bus issues continue to be a concern for parents at Lamar CISD.
This year, the district switched to staggered start times for schools in an effort to address the shortage of bus drivers, but parents said their kids are getting stuck on the bus for hours, missing classes and some are even getting dropped off at the wrong places.
Parents told us they don’t feel like transportation is a priority at Lamar CISD, and they say the ones who are suffering are their kids.
While waiting for her 11-year-old daughter at their bus stop Monday, Kacie Linegar said she got an unexpected notification from the school's app.
“The bus indicated that it was nearby, and the next thing we knew, it stated that our child had been dropped off at an undesignated location," Linegar said.
Her daughter was dropped off, but Linegar didn’t know where.
“My heart dropped," she said. "I don’t see my child. Now she’s no longer under the care of an adult that I have trusted."
Thankfully, her daughter had her phone on her. Linegar said her daughter told her that after a very long bus ride without AC, she and another child had been dropped off up the road in front of an abandoned church.
“We encountered some severe safety concerns that I am very unhappy about," Linegar said.
Linegar said this is only her daughter's second time riding the bus this year and this incident comes after her daughter spent more than six hours last Monday first waiting for the bus and then sitting on it, forcing her to miss two classes.
“I see this as a byproduct and an outcome of poor planning, and I don’t think this is setting our junior high and middle school students up for success," Linegar said.
The concerned mother said she’s not blaming the bus drivers, she’s blaming the system. She and other parents say they are not getting any answers from the district, and they want something to change.
“I want to understand why this happens, but more importantly, what’s being done by the top level of Lamar CISD to rectify this?" Linegar said.
When we asked Lamar CISD about the bus issues, they responded with the following statement:
"Lamar CISD is committed to the safety and well-being of all our students, and we take any transportation-related incidents seriously. We would like to address the recent transportation experience involving a middle school student.
The experience that occurred is deeply regrettable, and we apologize for any distress it may have caused the student and her family. In response to the concerns raised, we have conducted a thorough investigation to understand the sequence of events.
The student in question was indeed left at a location not aligned with her designated bus stop. This happened due to a combination of factors, including substituting an inexperienced driver on the route. The substitute driver was unfamiliar with the specific route and made a decision to drop off the student at a location that was deemed accessible, given the circumstances. We acknowledge that this decision resulted in an unfortunate and unintended situation.
Furthermore, we are aware that there were issues with the bus's air conditioning system during the route, which led to discomfort for the students on board. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this malfunction and commend the driver for promptly reporting the issue upon returning from the route.
Regarding the delays experienced during the first days of school, we acknowledge that some routes, including the purple track routes, faced challenges in a timely arrival. The specific route in question arrived later than anticipated due to various factors. While these delays were not reflective of our standard service, the Transportation Department spent the weekend updating routes to improve arrival times. As a result of the updates, this week, the student’s route has arrived to campus on time.
We want to assure our parents, students, and community that we take these matters seriously and are actively working to address the concerns raised by implementing corrective measures. This includes providing comprehensive training to substitute drivers, addressing maintenance issues promptly, and enhancing our communication processes to ensure transparency with our families.
The safety, comfort, and educational experience of our students remain our top priorities, and we appreciate the understanding and patience of our community as we continue to make improvements."
Linegar said she is not letting her daughter ride the bus home until she can trust the system.