Reroute Wexford Ele Bus 809

The middle/high school bus is too crowded. These kids have 3 bags and are having to fit 3 in a seat at times.

10 years ago Featured

Over crowded buses, 3 to a seat, with kids falling onto the floor when the bus hits a bump or rounds a bend is unacceptable and a huge safety concern. Asking these small children to ride a bus for 45 minutes or longer when the school is 10 minutes away is ridiculous. Asking them to do this with the additional concerns of overcrowding and falling out of the seat is absolutely unacceptable.

Solutions to the overcrowded bus and long transit time need to be found in a reasonable time frame, NOT next year.

We should not have 3 children per seat !pleaae consider redistributing the numbers and or adding another bus.

My expectation after last years petition would of been that this bus would of been prioritized and addressed with the new bus company this year. It is very disappointing that it has not and after the third week of school we are no further along than we were last year or the first day of school this year. Before we were redistricted we went to Richland and the kids were home no later then 4:10. It was only when we moved to Wexford elementary that the bus issues of over crowding and longer durations on the bus started. The Eden Hall bus is also about 5-7 minutes later than last year, making it almost impossible to get my daughter off of the bus and make it to Wexford for the car rider line to pick up my other child. We have several activities that start at 5PM and getting home at 4:31 to make it to those has become impossible. We would like a significant change done in the next few weeks as this cant continue to go on.

We expressed concerns last year and nothing was done. We have expressed our concerns again this year and here we are in the middle of September with no significant improvements. It is past time to end inefficient and overcrowded bus routes. Please handle this matter immediately.

10 years ago Featured

We live 10 mins. From the school there is no reason why our children need to be on the bus for 45+ mins. To get home from school. We have been expressing concerns for sometime now, with little done. It is unfair to ask us to wait yet another year to iron out any bus problems. The bus is crowded. Moving our bus stop from Rabold/Pinnacle to Rabold/Greenwooddoes nothing to solve the bus problem. You only moved our safe bus stop to one that is less safe for the 20 people at our stop.

Something has to change. The bus is overcrowded, drops off our children too late in Rabold Fields and now our bus stop has been moved to an unsafe location. Our points are clear, consistent and justified. Please help us correct this important issue immediately. Thank you.

We have been asked to be patient for 2 weeks and the only change that was made was Pinnacle stop has been moved further. So at this point, it is much worse than when we started school. After talking to the Assistant Superintendent, I've learned that the district plans for this to be a long process in fixing the routes. I disagree with this and feel that if the bus company cannot correct this now, then for what services is the district paying them? I have been told that we have not been forgotten, but that does not mean next year we will hear the news we want to hear. It needs to be taken care of this year. If our bus has been historically full and later than others, why wasn't our bus a priority to the company when they started in July? I was told that they began in July and so they just adopted the software from the former company that was not updated. Software or not, someone needs to get the job done - sooner rather than next year.

We live in a suburban area less than 10 miles from the school. There is no reason why our children should be on the school bus 45 minutes. I respectfully ask the school board to consider making a maximum 30 minute allowed on the school bus for all Pine Richland one student

10 years ago Featured

Sept 11, 2015 UPDATE TO BUS 138/ former 809 The minor changes promised by the district have been made. The bus is still consistently coming at or around 4:30. This is still not acceptable . The district needs to immediately re-route the buses, make other substantive changes to our bus route, or add another bus. Saving 2 minutes by eliminating the double loop was never enough. We should not have to wait a full or even partial school year for these changes to occur. Please add your comments below. There is a school board meeting on Monday, September 14. Please consider attending. If everyone brings/picks-up their kids at school this issue will never be resolved. Please share and resign this petition.

The following letter was sent to the school board directors, Dr. Walsh, and Superintendent Brian Miller tonight. Dear Dr. Miller, Directors, and Dr. Walsh, As you may or not be aware, Wexford Elementary Bus 809/new bus #138 has a history of being the last bus to school and the last to drop kids at home. Last year a petition was submitted to Dr. Miller with 25 families signing it. A link to last year's petition is here for your review. The petition implored the district to look at re-routing the bus route for better efficiency and to reduce time students will be spending on the bus. After a review by the bus company, the pick-up time was moved earlier and the bus was moved to the beginning of the line for loading. These changes, while appreciated, did not accomplish the desired result of shortening the duration of time our students are spending on the bus. Our neighborhood is less than 10 minutes away from Wexford Elementary, but we have consistently over the past 7 years had longer bus routes than any other neighborhood. This was confirmed by our bus driver last year who stated she was always the last driver back to the garage. With the new bus company, we had hoped that the routes would be adjusted and looked at for efficiency. When we received our initial bus time of 4:15, we were cautiously optimistic that these efficiencies had been realized. However, it has become clear that they have not. In speaking to a parent of students on our bus in Woodland Farms, they said their initial drop-off time was 4:45. It is assumed that after some complaints by these families, the bus route was "flipped back" and now our stop is anticipated to be 4:35, 50 minutes from when our kids leave school. Due to the now later bus delivery time of the Eden Hall bus, families at Wexford do not have the option to pick up at school- nor should the school want an entire neighborhood clogging the car rider lane, which already often spills onto the road from the s

Received today from Dr. Miller, Superintendent Good Afternoon, I received a forwarded copy of your email and concerns regarding bus 809. We appreciate the feedback. Brian J. Miller, Transportation and Facilities Use Coordinator, will work close with Dr. Walsh and the management at Monark to review the situation and evaluate options to address the concerns. Following that work, a summary letter will be sent to all families of bus 809 to ensure that each family has consistent information. This letter will also be used to clarify some of the concerns your email. We will then monitor any changes to ensure consistent, safe, and reliable service. Respectfully, Brian Miller -- Brian R. Miller, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools

The following will be emailed tomorrow morning with the petition. Dear Mr. Schmidt, Dr. Miller, and Dr. Walsh, As you may be aware, BUS 809 from Wexford Elementary has been consistently late arriving at school as well as arriving home late in the evenings. The parents of children at Wexford have been having an issue with this for the past 2-3 years, and it appears the problems continue to get worse rather than better. Over the years, including this one, parents have discussed the issues with the school principal as well as the bus company. The 25 families of students on BUS 809, primarily those residing in Pine Timbers and Rabold Fields, have created this petition to help you better understand our collective needs and regarding these issues. The primary issues are: School arrival time- students are arriving late for school, missing "morning work." Busing home- the bus is consistently 15 minutes or more late for arrival home. This is unsafe for families who are unsure about when they should arrive at the bus stop. Monarch asks families to allow for the bus to be ten minutes early, which leaves many parents waiting at the bus stop for one half hour, and in some instances as long as almost an hour. There is an additional concern of the school office potentially being closed while students are still on the bus. Overcrowding- many families have complained that BUS 809 has more disciplinary issues which stem from long bus rides and 3 students in a seat. In the past when complaints have been made, we have been told that it is too late to make changes into the school year. This is why this issue is being presented early on. We have spoken with the bus driver to ensure that these delays are not simply related to it being early in the school year. She has told us that it is unlikely that the bus will arrive any earlier due to the number of stops and children on the bus. Further, she has suggested to Monarch that the bus route is ineffici

I am unfortunately driving my children to and from school due to safety concerns and unusually long bus routes. I would love to finally see changes made to ensure a safe and timely route too and from school.

Please sign the petition by Monday night, 9/8 and we will send to Monarch, the school board, and Dr. Walsh on Tuesday. Please forward to anyone on BUS 809 that might be affected by these delays.