Five Days Into School, Canyon ISD’s Bus Problems Are Already Out of Control

I understand the first week or two of school can be a bit stressful and chaotic for everyone, but Canyon ISD is experiencing maybe a bit more stress and chaos than others. The problem with that? Well, they're creating chaos and stress for kids and parents alike.

The bus schedule is a disaster for Canyon ISD right now. The kids have been in school for just five days as of the writing of this article, and I've had more bus issues for my kids in those five days than I've had in any full year of their schooling.

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Completely Forgotten, Kind Of Late, Super Late

Now, while I can appreciate there's going to be a couple of kinks as the year gets started, the issues we've dealt with are flat out unacceptable. I can live with the bus being 5-6 minutes late, but this has been way worse than that.

First day of school? Completely forgotten, bus never even showed up. Fourth day of school? Bus was 15 minutes late. My wife followed the bus to make sure my youngest son could make his connecting bus on time. Today, fifth day of school, bus was over 30 minutes late. I had to leave the office to grab my youngest son since he wouldn't make the transfer bus.

What Did The Transportation Department Say

I called the Canyon ISD transportation department after dropping off my son at school. I wanted to know how, in five days, the bus was significantly late two days, and just flat out didn't show up another day. Let's just say I was less than inspired by the answer.

Today the bus was late because there was a sub driver who "doesn't know the route". Isn't that need-to-know info? What about yesterday when it was 15 minutes late or the first day of school when it just never showed up? "We're trying to work out the kinks".

The one that really got me, though, was when I expressed the incredible inconvenience and stress it causes both my wife and me as well as our kids. I was told "Look, the bus is a privilege that we don't have to provide".

What Is The Main Issue

Based on my conversation with the poor rep that answered my call, it seems that the routes are constantly being changed right now. I asked why they were changing so much, and her response was "late registration for bus service". Look, there are deadlines for a reason.

I understand situations change from time to time, such as a work schedule changing or someone simply getting a job and they can no longer get their kids to school. This early in the year, though? The forgetfulness of a few is affecting many, and while they should still get their bus service, we shouldn't be constantly changing the routes to accommodate. They should have to accommodate to the route already set.

Where Are The Tax Dollars Going

Hang on, a privilege? Huh, interesting. Last time I checked, a lot of my tax dollars are getting sunk into the schools, specifically Canyon ISD. The Canyon ISD Board of Trustees set the second-highest public school tax rate in the region. 0.927200 per $100 goes into the district.

Don't tell me it's a privilege when a huge portion of my tax dollars are going to you. I understand the money goes to other places as well, but you're using a portion of those tax dollars to pay for the buses, gas, and drivers. Let's not forget those that don't even have kids in the district that are pumping money into the schools.

When Will The Issues Be Fixed

According to the person I spoke with at the transportation department, she said "They should be all taken care of by the end of the week". Great, I sincerely hope so, but that means myself and others have at least another three days we have to worry about our kids standing at the bus stop wondering if they're going to make it to school.

I appreciate the jobs the bus drivers do, and the fact that we do have buses to get our kids to school, don't get me wrong. However, certain things simply can't happen, and too many of them have already happened just five days into the school year.