SPOKANE, Wash. — Some Spokane Public Schools parents are not happy with the bus system this week.
They say the buses have been picking up and dropping of their students 20 minutes late for school. A few even gave up on the bus completely and took their student(s) to school themselves.
The district is pointing the finger at the recent weather conditions.
District Spokesperson Brian Coddington said over the last five school days this week, 1,197 Kindergarten through 12th grade students had bus tardies.
He explains, Durham Bus Services runs on a three-tier system in Spokane. Which means the buses start the morning with high school students, then pick up elementary students, followed by middle school.
He said the winter road conditions are what likely contributed to delayed buses, which he said can have a domino effect on reaching students throughout the morning.
"It'd be small if you had just one drop off," Coddington said. "But when you have three tiers of drop offs, any little delay in your first tier will now ripple into your second and third tiers. That becomes a bit of a challenge."
Students who arrive to school late on their bus are not penalized. Coddington said they are only marked bus tardy, which has no consequences.
He adds Durham buses during winter driving conditions stage near neighborhoods early at the beginning of their routes. The idea is this will address driving delays and getting to students on time.
But some parents say that has not been the case this past week.
"It's not perfect, we're not perfect and Durham is not perfect, and when the weather is like this, it's a challenging time for everyone," Coddington said.
He adds it is a good idea to have an alternative plan for getting your student to school during winter conditions.
Parents are also encouraged to use the Durham Bus Tracker app. It allows parents to view your student's current school bus location and route in near real time.