The Waterford School District is apologizing after bus delays left children stranded and parents without information on the first day of school. Five routes were also canceled Tuesday across elementary, middle and high schools, marking the second straight day of disruptions.
On Monday, children riding to Riverside Elementary were 40 minutes late getting to school and an hour late getting home. A substitute driver unfamiliar with the route became lost, the district confirmed. The district cited a bus driver shortage as the cause of the problem.
Watch Jolie Sherman's full report in the video player below:
Sarah Dalton and Sarah Taylor live in the same neighborhood, and their children ride the bus together. Because of the morning delay, both had to drive their children to school.
The afternoon brought more anxiety. Dalton said the bus typically arrives around 4:22 p.m., but she waited without any communication from the school.
"I reached out to the transportation department. I was getting yelled at, hung up on. That's unacceptable... At 5:06 p.m., the school sent out a notice saying the children left the school at 4:20 p.m., and they did not know when and where the bus was or when and where the children would be dropped off," Dalton said.
Dalton said the children did not arrive home until 5:19 p.m.
Taylor described the experience as frightening.
"That whole hour I just kept thinking, where is she? It doesn't take that long to drive 3 miles, and when she got off the bus she was visibly shaken, and she doesn't shake easy," Taylor said.
Dalton said her 8-year-old was among the children on the bus.
"This was an entire hour of wondering where my eight-year-old was," Dalton said.
The district released a statement addressing the delays:
"We want to share our most sincere apologies for the transportation delays and the lack of communication many of our families experienced during these first couple days of school. We know how stressful and disruptive this is for our families’ morning and afternoon routines, and we take full responsibility for the frustration this has caused.
Like so many other districts across Michigan and the country, we are currently facing an ongoing shortage of staff. While this is a widespread challenge, our number one priority remains the safety and care of our students.
Our team is working hard to fix these issues. We are currently reviewing every bus route, reassigning drivers where they are needed most and actively looking for new drivers. We are also looking at long-term schedule changes to help keep things running on time.
We are committed to finding solutions that work for our students and families, and we truly appreciate our families’ patience as we work through these challenges together.
Sincerely,
Adam Martin, Superintendent
Matt Dalton, Sarah Dalton's husband, said the district experienced several bus delays during the previous school year as well and expressed frustration that the problems have continued.
“These are the children that can’t fend for themselves in these situations. They’re basically held hostage, and it’s just one of those things where you say, ‘How long do you let someone say, “Sorry, I’ll do better”?’” Matt Dalton said.
Taylor said the situation went beyond a minor mistake.
"I want a clear action plan. I want to know how they are training bus drivers. I would like a bus tracker, ultimately... This wasn't a hiccup. This was improper planning and a safety concern," Taylor said.
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