BARTOW, Fla. — Some parents in Polk County say their public school system is not making the grade when it comes to getting their kids to school on time.
You'd be hard-pressed to find a school district in Florida that doesn't face some delays during its first week or two of classes as drivers get used to their new routes and kids figure out which bus to get on.
Polk County School officials say that's part of the problem.
The district acknowledges several other contributing factors as well, all combining to create a relatively high number of frustrating delays.
“It's horrible,” said Sabrena, a grandmother who often picks up her two grandchildren at the bus stop. “You have to sit there and wait.”
This past Friday, the district, which posts its bus delays on its website, saw close to a hundred delays. Monday morning, it was still more than 70.
In most cases buses are running 20 to 30 minutes behind, but in several others, it’s an hour or more.
The district, like others, is short on drivers, too. However, it’s also contending with a new tracking system, which confirms students are getting on and off the right bus.
The ID system uses a card reader, but some students haven't received their cards yet. This leaves drivers forced to manually go through a time-consuming checklist looking up each of those students' names.
“I'm not sure, but they really need to work on it quick. Because, like I said, parents are getting frustrated. I'm frustrated. My daughter is frustrated,” Sabrena said. “And parents at the bus stop are frustrated. It's horrible.”
“If it's months and months and months, it's probably bad for the teachers and bad for the other students. It's disruptive,” said Polk County resident Lauren Benson. “But if it's only a couple of weeks, then it's probably best that they get off at the right stops and the right schools.”
In an emailed statement, the school district spokesman Kyle Kennedy wrote:
“Bus delays, even lengthy delays, are very common at the start of the school year. We always make a point to communicate this to families. We post bus delay information to our website and open a temporary call center to help keep families informed. We're also implementing new technology to help track our buses and monitor student ridership. Polk County is one of the fastest growing areas in the nation, which places tremendous demand on our transportation resources. But we know that delays are frustrating for families, and we appreciate their patience as we settle into the routine of a new year.”
The Polk County School District says the new ID card system is part of a broader technology package that schools rolled out this year hoping to improve safety.
The district also installed cameras on hundreds of its buses — aimed at fining those who illegally drive past the buses when they've stopped to drop off and pick up students.