ST. LOUIS – Nearly one month into the school year and ongoing issues from transportation delays to staffing shortages are still disrupting the district’s progress.
Tuesday night’s school board meeting was relocated to a public middle school to accommodate the expected crowd of concerned parents.
Transportation has been the most pressing agenda item for St. Louis Public Schools since the spring, with concerns over delayed pick-ups and drop-offs, lack of communication, and some students not even having modes of transportation still occurring.
“This issue about the transportation… this is crazy… this is crazy,” William “Bill” Monroe said.
The district says they’ve added 15 phone operators to the assistance lines, but parents are still complaining over no responses.
“We have a board of education that has remained silent throughout this whole process and they’re responsible,” Monroe said.
Issues revolving around registration for new students or students who have moved not being in the system are two of the catalysts for incorrect transportation route problems they’ve been working to rearrange.
At present, 458 students are using Metro passes, and 421 non-bus vehicles are being used for transportation. Approximately 1,000 students were added to yellow bus routes to and from school after Labor Day, and 500 bus stop change requests are being sorted through by officials, which SLPS says is affecting data being used to judge the transportation challenges.
“We have routes for students who are not enrolled in our schools,” interim Superintendent Dr. Milicent Borishade said. “We have learned that there are some parents who are saying that they should be getting picked up, but they haven’t registered their children in our schools. So, we’re just learning a lot about transportation each and every day.”
Another transportation meeting is set for Wednesday morning to discuss more of the challenges and what the district has learned and can alter. School officials say parents can expect updates on things like tracking after that meeting.
