Brandon Twp.- Students at Brandon Fletcher Intermediate School were dismissed at 3:40 p.m. on the first day of school. But it wasn’t until 5:15 p.m. that Charity Bukoski’s sixth grade son made it home.
‘The first day, my husband came home before our son and we were like, ‘Where’s our kid?? says Bukoski.
Her son was on the bus for an hour and 35 minutes. Bukoski is upset about this, and she isn’t alone.
Katherine Stewart’s first and fourth-grade daughters did not ride the bus to Belle Ann Elementary the first week because of how late the bus arrived, a half-hour late the first day, 22 minutes late the second, and late again the next two days, she says. They did ride the bus home, but arrived more than an hour after school had been dismissed.
‘It was mass confusion,? says Stewart of the transportation problems the first week of school. ‘I talked to a lot of parents. I don’t think the thought process was complete on how long (bus routes) would take.?
Stewart cited part of the problem as a change made this year so intermediate school students ride the bus with elementary students instead of Brandon High School students (as they did last year).
In an effort to reduce the length of time students ride buses, district officials implemented transportation changes that took effect last Monday.
Belle Ann Elementary students have a new start time of 8:50 a.m. and new dismissal time of 3:40 p.m.. Brandon Fletcher Intermediate School has the same start and end times of 8:35 a.m. and 3:40 p.m. H.T. Burt and Harvey Swanson Elementary Schools also keep their start time of 8:50 a.m. and end time of 4 p.m.
There is no transferring between buses in the morning, but at the end of the day, Belle Ann and BFIS students will be taken by bus to H.T. Burt/Harvey Swanson, where they board a different bus if necessary.
Stewart says the kids get to school on time now, and her children are arriving home about 50 minutes after school is dismissed.
‘Things are running smoother,? she said. ‘A bandage has been put on it. Is it right yet? I don’t think so.?
Bukoski says her son is still on the bus for more than an hour.
‘My son is dragging,? she says. ‘He told me, ‘the bus is still too long.??
Brandon Transportation Director Betty Martin acknowledges the typical bus ride in the district is an hour in the morning and at night due to a number of factors, including the size of the rural district, 55 square miles.
‘You could double the fleet of buses and half the students could have shorter times,? she says. ‘But when you get to the outer reaches of the district, the homes farthest from the schools, it just takes time to get there and back. Sometimes, the kids that live closest to the school can’t be dropped off until the end of the route, because you need the bus on the right side of the road.?
Traffic is another factor, particularly M-15 and rush hour traffic at the end of the day. Martin notes it can take 10 minutes just for buses to get from Varsity Drive onto South Street.
Road conditions also lengthen the drive time, particularly with ice and snow, or dirt roads that haven’t been graded.
Students transferring to different buses is a necessity, says Martin, because only eight buses fit in the Belle Ann parking lot. Those buses meet the rest of the fleet at H.T. Burt/Harvey Swanson. BFIS students transfer now so they don’t share buses with high school students and because they are dismissed at the same time as Belle Ann students.
Logistics also figure in. Buses from Belle Ann can not simply take those students home directly from the school to homes in the area of Belle Ann, because district parents have a choice in what elementary school to send their children to and some students at Belle Ann live closer to H.T. Burt and Harvey Swanson schools and vice versa.
‘It’s the best we can make it right now with what we have to work with,? says Martin. ‘The biggest thing is we’re not separated per building.?
Brandon Superintendent Tom Miller says the policy of in-district schools of choice will be reviewed.
‘We provide transportation for kids in Belle Ann area to go to another elementary and this is something that may need to be evaluated in the future,? he said. ‘It does put a stress on the system.?
Stewart suggested some of the money from the recently passed bond extension for the schools could go to fixing the bus issues, but while Miller notes that bond money could be used to purchase buses, it is illegal to pay for salaries, as well as fuel and maintenance, from those funds.
‘We’ve gotten it down to as low a riding time as we can get it with the financial means we have,? Miller said. ‘If we had more money, we could evaluate buying more buses and hiring more drivers. But the state mandates the money we get. We use that for class sizes, especially at the K-2 level, because of the importance of keeping low class sizes, especially at that age. We spend money on staff and supplies and focus on learning in the classroom.?