This year’s problems with Hillsborough County school buses go beyond late notices to parents.  The frustrations that parents have with the Hillsborough school bus mess – and their inability to get through to the eight people staffing the phones – is going on for a while.

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Who wants to be a school bus driver these days? One of the biggest problems the county has is that there’s not enough drivers.

There need to be changes at the top.  The issues aren’t budget cuts.  Budget cuts lead to fewer routes and fewer stops.  Parents can deal with that.  But when a bus shows up 3 out of the first three days more than 30 minutes late (if at all or drives by a stop), that is not a result of budget cuts or shortage of drivers. 
Call center overwhelmed?  Well, if there had been an effective communication plan prior to the Thursday before schools opened, then maybe there wouldn’t be so many calls!  How about a notification plan to the school when a bus has been delayed?  Parents call the school, the school has no idea a bus has been in an accident, got lost, is stuck in traffic due to an accident.  These things happen.  But there is no communication, no plan whatsoever.  The attitude is too bad, we’re doing the best we can.  Well, the best so far is a failing grade.  There are so many kids being dropped off at schools due to the lack of effective transportation, there are 45 minute traffic jams at the schools.  And because of that, the school hires a policeman to direct and keep traffic moving.  Please.

Cell center hit by lightning?  Come on, its Florida, lightning capital of the world.  What is the contingency plan for such an occurance?  What is the disaster recovery plan?  Truely, the start of this school year, transportation-wise has been a disaster.  A total disaster brought on by incompetent management at the highest levels.  Think any changes are forthcoming?  I don’t.

It is going to take something really tragic, like some poor child getting run over, for this to get any type of response.  Isn’t that sad?

As an industrious parent-volunteer in the school district for over 10 years, I challenge all the parents/guardians who have school-aged children in the system to contribute to the solutions our school board officials and superior staff face on a daily basis, including transportation. Since you vote for the officials, why are you not attending or watching the school board meetings on television or internet and proactively sounding off? Your finger-pointing should also include yourselves. This is OUR problem and it will take your involvement to help solve it or you can continue letting your children pay the “price”.

This is another manifestation of consolidating local schools into larger area schools. Parents feel just as lost in these big schools as their children do. 

The perceived financial benefits of consolidation are being eroded by the high cost of student transportation coupled with budget cuts.

If schools were within walking distance, there wouldn’t be so many busing problems and children would get more excercise walking to and from school.

Today is day five of school. I understand the bus not showing up on day one. Busses can run really late. Day two came and went and again no bus. I talked to the person running the bus ramp and she assured me she would talk to the driver and that she would be there for day three, but yet again, no bus showed up at the new stop, so I talked to the ramp coordinator again and waited on the phone for over 30 minutes to reach the transportation department. THey all assured me that on day four someone would be there. I was even given the drivers name. Day four, NO bus again, I went through the same thing, talking to everyone. I got up this morning and took my kids to the bus stop and low and behold there is still no bus!!! I have been late to work every day since school started and can seem to get nowhere. Granted the people on the phone at the transportation department are very nice and make all kinds of promises, they do call back when they say they will, but they can’t seem to get a bus to show up to get these kids to school. Lets see what tomorrow brings!

Maybe they need to put navigation systems in the buses so they can find the stops?

WOW, OK so today is day seven of the school year, and THE BUS SHOWED UP for the FIRST time!!! I have spent countless hours on the phone and sent many emails, got three school principal’s involved, but she actually showed up! IT’S A MIRACLE!!! (and it was only 10 minutes late!!!)

Jack Davis has been the GO-TO guy whenever a division has got itself into trouble and he is the person the School Board should of made Superintendent of Schools.  He is one of the few Administrators in the Hillsborough County Schools that has management ability. If you don’t believe it look at all the hats Mr. Davis has to wear for the district.

Most of the idiot’s they saddle us with are FAILED Principals who couldn’t manage a small school. So the Board lends them a Cliff Notes book on Management circa 1975 hands them a substantial raise and we in the trenches along with your children suffer for it.

Ms Elia is one of theses bosses that doesn’t want anyone smart as or smarter than her around her and overloads the people she wants out with work to the point where they leave or fail. If you don’t believe it look at all the really talented people who have left recently our county school system for better jobs in other districts. The folks that are left down at the administration building are short timers, county drones or newbie’s.