The problem should be resolved within the week, said a district spokeswoman.
By: David M. Campbell
The West Windsor-Plainsboro School District has been experiencing busing delays since school opened Thursday – up to an hour in some cases – but the problem should be resolved within the week, district spokeswoman Gerri Hutner said Monday.
"We are still having some delays," Ms. Hutner said.
Buses were 10 to 60 minutes late on Thursday, but delays had been reduced to 10 to 15 minutes as of Monday, she said.
On Thursday, most of the delays were caused by a shortage of bus drivers on routes handled by busing contractors hired by the district, Ms. Hutner said. Those contractors were immediately alerted to the problem, and more drivers were assigned the following day, Ms. Hutner said.
"There is a shortage of bus drivers, not just in our community but in other communities throughout the state," she said.
Ms. Hutner said delays have continued, possibly due to road construction, later starting times in some district schools – which means that buses have to contend more with rush-hour traffic – and increased enrollment.
Deborah Hornstra of Plainsboro, a parent of a Community Middle School student and an advocate of opening schools later in the day, said the delays may speak to the ongoing discussion of possible redistricting.
"My kids are bused five miles away to Community Middle School in Plainsboro, even though we live just one mile away from Grover Middle School," she said.
On Monday, Ms. Hornstra continued, her kids were picked up about 15 minutes after classes had begun.
"There are a lot of buses that have got to get a lot of kids to one place at one time. It’s a tough job," she said.
Ms. Hornstra said the Upper Elementary School was suffering most from the delays, because the school is the only one in the district serving children from every neighborhood in West Windsor and Plainsboro.
"It’s logistically impossible to get all those kids to the school at the same time," she said.
Jacqueline Alberts, West Windsor councilwoman and parent of a Dutch Neck School student and an Upper Elementary School student, said Monday that morning pickups have improved since Thursday, but "the problem is still acute in the afternoon, and hopefully it will be better tomorrow."
On Thursday, about 400 students on 16 different routes were affected by late buses, Ms. Alberts said. In some cases, she said, there were buses on the schedule that simply didn’t exist.
As of Monday, she said, her 9-year-daughter, who attends Upper Elementary, didn’t get on a bus until 3:30 p.m. Classes let out just before 3 p.m., but there was no bus to meet her, she said.
Ms. Alberts, citing parent complaints she heard all weekend, said parents are troubled by difficulties in calling the district’s transportation department.
"It’s not just that the children are late getting back from school but that parents don’t know where they are," she said.
There have been some reports, Ms. Alberts added, of drivers getting lost on their routes and having to ask directions, in some cases from the children on the bus.
Ms. Hutner said Monday that "the district certainly understands the difficulties. We hope everyone will have a little patience to help us work through it. Within the next couple of days, everything should be back to normal."