Tacoma schools grapple with bus schedule issues

TACOMA, Wash. — Kids over an hour late to school, and some school buses that never even show up - those are just some of the complaints from parents in Tacoma as they work to navigate the first week of classes.

This year the Tacoma School District unveiled new bus routes to correspond with a new bell schedule.

“It’s a mess,” says parent, Leah Frazier. Her elementary school kids were placed on the wrong bus route.

“The school called me at 3:30 yesterday, not knowing if I was coming to get them or if they were supposed to be bussed. They went ahead and put them on a whole ‘nother bus. So when I went to the bus stop, I was at the wrong stop,” says Frazier.

The confusion continued Tuesday morning, for her and other parents in the area.

“I guess the school assured some of the other parents in my neighborhood that the bus would be there this morning, and I waited and waited. No bus showed up, so I took my kids to school,” says Frazier.

Parent Jen Loughrey tells KIRO 7, “I called the school about 45 minutes after dismissal asking where my child was.”

She says the school district’s bus app showed that her child had already been dropped off. But Loughrey says that wasn’t the case, “She got home over an hour later.”

On Facebook, other Tacoma parents shared her concerns. One parent claims their child arrived to class ‘almost an hour late’. Another parent writes, ‘My student couldn’t even get on the school bus because it was overcrowded and had to take the city bus home.’

Last week, in an interview with KIRO 7, the district said they changed their bus times as a way to reduce cost and increase efficiency. The district says making these changes could save a million dollars each year.

Frazier says she’s optimistic the district and transportation department will sort out the new routes. But until that happens, she says she’ll continue to drive her children to school.

“At least I know where they’re being dropped off. My kids don’t mind. They know I’m gonna get them to school,” says Frazier.

In a statement Tuesday afternoon, a spokesperson from the district responded to questions from KIRO 7 about the bussing issues with the following statement:

The beginning of each school year brings new students and new drivers. It is not uncommon for everyone to need a few days to get used to the routine. This school year is no exception. It is our expectation that buses have accurate rosters and run on time.

Our protocol is to proactively communicate with parents if a student’s bus is running late by 15 minutes or more. Unfortunately, yesterday our team did not proactively communicate. Today we have reviewed practices and procedures regarding communications in an effort to address this issue.

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