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1. BobLoblaw
   Member Profile

   

   I've got nowhere else to post this, and I've seen rumblings elsewhere in the forums, so here goes ...
   .
   My kids were due at 3:30 yesterday. I went down to meet them. 20 minutes late, no big deal. It's first day and all. I assume the drivers are getting used to the routes. 30 minutes late and there they are! Hooray! What's this? The bus drives right past the stop and keeps going. I wave at the kids expecting to see the bus turn around and come back down the street.
   .
   5 minutes later I call the oldest one. She says the bus is now about four blocks away and doesn't look to be coming back. I tell her to hang in there and start calling the bus barn at the school district. Busy signal. Many times. Many different numbers.
   .
   Call the kid back. Bus driver is lost. Oops! Nope! There's the bus. I rush to try and stop it, but can't quite get there in time as it drives by once again. I wave at the kids. They've got a look of fear on their faces.
   .
   More calls to the bus barn, the school district HQ, etc. All busy signals.
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   Back on the phone with the kid. "Hey, look, there's Alki!" she exclaims. (We live 5 miles from Alki). Kid reports the driver is asking kids for directions and has only dropped one or two off the entire hour she's been on the road. Driver is mad at kids and confused about where to go. My kids are too afraid to approach her and tell her where they live.
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   Locking up the house and getting ready to go find the bus, I hear the sound of a big diesel engine coming down the road. Yep, it's the bus. Nope, the kids aren't on it.
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   Finally, nearly an hour and a half after they were due home, here come the little troopers, walking down the sidewalk. They had been dropped off along Fauntleroy, a block from their promised drop-off location (which is a nice, traffic-free corner), and the bus had continued down our street for the third time.
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   In desperation I sent e-mail to the district alerting them to the fact I'm going to call the police and report a kidnapping. Still no response from them.
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   The bus barn phone lines (all of them -- even the 'emergency' line), are all still busy, as they were late into the night last night when I finally gave up.
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   Oh, and I'd call my kid to see where they are right now. But she got in trouble for having a cell phone on the bus.

   Posted 3 years ago #         

2. beachdrivegirl
   Member Profile

   

   I can not believe what is going on out there!!this is completly unacccetable! In two days time i have heard about.. a poor five year old boy lost by himself!! miles from his home, the kids being left @ bus stations b/c the metro is to full, and now this.. this should be BIG news. Pick up the phone and call KOMO, KING5, or KIRO. Have a lawyer with you during your interview...

   TR, front page story???!?

   Posted 3 years ago #         

3. add
   Member Profile

   Outrageous - our bus was 40 min late yesterday, too- but I called the school and they told me about it. This happens EVERY YEAR - why can't the district add more phone lines to the Transportation/Bus office on the first week???

   Posted 3 years ago #         

4. Ken
   Member Profile

   

   I am driving the step grandson to and from school this week.

   The issue is worse than you think.

   Each year the school district Bus phone lines, all of them, become useless for 2 to 3 weeks.

   We need to arrange a stop for the SGS and have been calling for two weeks already. The District has no memory of the same thing happening last year and the year before.

   This is like earthquake preparedness. Expect no help from the city for the first week.

   I see the vile "everyday math" curriculum is still in effect so I will have to teach the crumb snatcher real math when he starts to fall behind.

   Posted 3 years ago #         

5. GenHillOne
   Member Profile

   Bob, I think you've got an especially bad driver there...she just may not have wanted calls going out to parents telling you that they were in Kent. I'm not sure what age you're talking about, but from our MS experience, there were no rules against phones, iPods, etc. on the bus (school yes, bus no). My son used both daily on the bus and regularly called just before he got to his stop so I could swing by to pick him up on the way to activities.

   Posted 3 years ago #         

6. BobLoblaw
   Member Profile

   

   Yep, I agree it's an unusually bad driver experience. Hence the rant. I completely understand late drop-off, hectic first week of school, etc. This was a bit much -- especially the inability to reach the district's "emergency" or regular numbers, even right now.
   .
   As for the phone, it was pointed out in the rules that phone are forbidden on the bus. It's an elementary school bus, if that makes any difference.
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   Update for tonight: Only 30 minutes late. Still dropped off on busy Fauntleroy Freeway, not where they were supposed to be and have been dropped off in the past.
   .
   At least they didn't have to cross 35th, however. That is really sad.

   Posted 3 years ago #         

7. Bonnie
   Member Profile

   Great. My sons bus was supposed to come today and NEVER SHOWED UP! ugh!

   Posted 3 years ago #         

8. jbar
   Member Profile

   wow. both my kids go to independent schools. I won't complain about driving them ANYMORE. I would be freaking out if they were that late. I still have dreams about getting on the wrong bus or not remembering what bus # i'm supposed to get on...

   Posted 3 years ago #         

9. ellenater
   Member Profile

   

   I'm with jbar. I'll not be complaining about having to get up and dressed to drive the little guy to school. YOWZA!

   Posted 3 years ago #         

10. BobLoblaw
    Member Profile

    

    I have to admit we make them take the bus in the afternoon as an exercise in learning some independence after driving them to and fro for years. Little did I know they would be learning this much. :-)

    Posted 3 years ago #         

11. datamuse
    Member Profile

    

    Yikes. No wonder my next-door neighbor has been driving her kids to school.

    Posted 3 years ago #         

12. timeslid
    Member Profile

    

    Our bus also was a no show Thursday morning. Luckily there were enough parents at the stop to get all the young-ins to school.

    Posted 3 years ago #         

13. Bonnie
    Member Profile

    the bus was a no show at our house again on Friday morning. I think I'll just give up on the bus and drive my son myself.

    Posted 3 years ago #         

14. beachdrivegirl
    Member Profile

    

    Why aren't you, as parents, making a bigger deal about this ? I don't have children and I am stubborn but I would be at the Superintendents office with my child the very first day any of this happened. This is just unacceptable. Some parents work, what are their children supposed to do???

    Posted 3 years ago #         

15. BobLoblaw
    Member Profile

    

    beachdrivegirl: In our case it's because we have learned over the years that nothing will be done about anything you bring to the attention of the school leadership or the school district leadership. Parents are nuisances to them. So we suck it up, try our best, but eventually just "get over it." You get what you pay for.If we could pay for better, we would.

    Posted 3 years ago #         

16. GenHillOne
    Member Profile

    I'm wondering if there has been some kind of significant change in the transportation office (aside from switching the high schools to Metro, which is another disturbing scenario). Does anyone know? Our first-week experience included late busses (never no-shows) and an overloaded phone line (to adjust assigned stops and pretty flexible actually). Things usually shook out in the second week though. Has your bus just not come in the past? It really sounds like something has gone sideways this year.

    Posted 3 years ago #         

17. Bonnie
    Member Profile

    BDG, I have been trying to call the office but just get a busy signal!

    Posted 3 years ago #         

18. walfredo
    Member Profile

    

    This is insane.

    Posted 3 years ago #         

19. c
    Member Profile

    wow. I guess we have a good driver! only 5 mins late the first day and gets home earlier than supposed to.

    Posted 3 years ago #         

20. Heinz57Mom
    Member Profile

    This is scary. My little guy is in SpEd preschool and starts on the 15th. We had numerous problems last year which didn't get resolved until I retained an attorney and left a message with the Seattle School Districts legal affairs office, SpEd office, and Risk Managment.

    I have virtual twins that go to two different schools. They've already jacked with us this year by changing his program from morning to afternoon and notifying us just this past week. They better not jack with me this year. I'm already loaded for Bear!

    I can't be in two places at one time so it looks like I should be pre-emptive and call an IEP meeting for as soon as we get back.

    Posted 3 years ago #         

21. beachdrivegirl
    Member Profile

    

    Thank you Heinz57Mom! I have been waiting for that key word attorney over and over again. This is unacceptable. Best of luck to you wit the start to this year. Hopefully it will be better than last.

    Posted 3 years ago #         

22. Heinz57Mom
    Member Profile

    To each their own beachgirl but my mama taught me to fight and for my children I'll go to the mat!

    Posted 3 years ago #         

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