No-show D93 bus driver has parents upset and kids freezing - East Idaho News
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No-show D93 bus driver has parents upset and kids freezing

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IONA — Parents in an Iona subdivision are hesitant to send their children to the bus stop in the mornings. Some fear their kids may catch frostbite before they catch their bus.

“I’m a little surprised it’s still an issue,” parent Joel Hiller said.

Hiller, along with other parents like Candice Preston and Stephanie Walker have said Bus 27 hasn’t been showing up. Their children attend Iona Elementary in Bonneville Joint School District 93, and the question of when or if they will make it to school on time occurs daily.

“I leave for work at 7:40 a.m. and my kids are still at the bus stop. I send them out at 7:12 a.m. to go to the bus stop. That’s a good half-an-hour or more that they are out there waiting for the bus to get there,” Preston said.

District officials said they are aware of the issues and they are working with the driver toward the best resolution. They also say there is a shortage of bus drivers.

Bus 27 is scheduled to arrive at 7:24 a.m., and school starts at 8:05 a.m. The school children and their parents say the bus driver is either too early, too late or just a complete flake.

“It just puts a whole disruption in the whole school system when you’ve got 30 kids walking into different class rooms late everyday,” Walker said.

The issue of this bus driver’s inconsistency isn’t recent. Parents said it began about five months ago at the beginning of the school year.

“They were late for their very first day of school, probably close to 15-20 minutes late,” Walker said.

It isn’t just the tardiness parents worry about. They say the fact that kids have been waiting in frigid weather for extended periods of time is disconcerting. On Tuesday, children were at the bus stop for 30 minutes or more while temperatures ranged from 11 degrees down to -7 degrees.

“Lately with the subzero temperatures, as a parent I obviously worry for my children standing out in the cold that long,” Hiller said.

Preston said Iona Elementary will not allow kids to be at school before 7:45 a.m., so early drop-off isn’t an option. Parents have had to sit and wait for the bus with their kids.

All three parents have spoken with the district office and its transportation department numerous times to resolve the issues. Preston said the department seems to make excuses as to why the bus isn’t there.

“Our main concern has always been the safety and welfare of the children,” Walker said. “All we are asking for is the school district to take our concerns more seriously and find a way to rectify the situation.”

The district transportation supervisor, Karen Judy spoke with EastIdahoNews.com and said she is aware of the complaints. She said they are doing their best to work with their employee, and that it has been a personnel issue.

“We’re working with her, trying to rectify that. We’re concerned being about kids out at the bus stop,” Judy said.

Judy said the main problem is that there aren’t enough drivers.

“We’ve had some mechanical issues, we’ve had some weather issues and we’re trying to work through all of that. Our biggest thing right now is we’re just so understaffed,” Judy said. “I just really need bus drivers, we just need great people that would be willing to step up and help us out.”

Judy said they are also working to change the bus drivers route to a more manageable time. They have not confirmed when that would be.

Walker thinks, “If you are so understaffed and don’t have enough drivers then it’s your responsibility to hire out then. Hire another transportation company to come and pick these kids up until you can get reliable bus drivers.”

Fortunately the kids do make it home from school, but for parents the question still remains whether or not the bus will come.

“Everyday is it going to be a little bit later? I don’t know,” Hiller said.

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