News Summary
The Jerome School District is addressing significant confusion and frustration with its new busing system, which has led to class cancellations. Many parents opted to drive their children to school due to unreliable bus services. Transportation Director Tim Hicks reported improvements, while Superintendent Brent Johnson acknowledged the issues encountered were unacceptable. The problems stem from routing software errors linked to Google Maps, causing incorrect student disqualifications. Efforts are underway to resolve these issues and enhance transportation operations, while safety concerns have necessitated hiring more bus drivers to meet rising demands.
Jerome, Idaho – The Jerome School District is addressing widespread confusion and frustration stemming from a new school busing system that resulted in class cancellations last week. During this period, many parents described the situation as “chaos,” prompting them to choose to drive their children to school rather than rely on the unreliable bus service.
Transportation Director Tim Hicks reported that improvements in the busing system are being made, stating that the situation is getting “better and better.” Superintendent Brent Johnson indicated that progress has been notable when compared to the initial week of the new bus operation, which experienced significant challenges. Johnson has expressed regret for the inconveniences faced by parents and acknowledged that the issues encountered were unacceptable.
The root of the problems with the new bus system links to routing software integrated with Google Maps, which has shown inaccuracies specific to Jerome County. As a consequence, incorrect addresses were provided for some students, resulting in buses being directed to cornfields and other incorrect locations. This added to the frustrations as many parents were taken by surprise when their children, who were initially enrolled to ride the bus, were suddenly disqualified at the last minute with little notice.
After an investigation, it was discovered that a software glitch had triggered some of the disqualifications. The transportation and IT departments are now working together diligently to resolve these issues. Parents have been requested to complete transportation forms to assist in mapping out routing concerns, with significant improvements expected to be in place in the upcoming weeks. To correct the identified routing problems, manual data entry is required, which is anticipated to be finished by the end of the next week.
Moreover, the district is currently seeking to hire additional school bus drivers to meet the rising demands for transportation. Safety concerns related to the bus fleet and necessary operational changes led to the cancellation of classes on August 21 and 22.
The district previously transported 1,300 students, a notable increase from the 950 students bused in past years, creating logistical challenges such as overcrowding and delays. Contributing factors included poor signage for bus transfers and insufficient time to properly implement the new system, which led to confusion among students and parents alike.
To help resolve the ongoing issues, the district has planned to confirm addresses and ridership information with parents, leading to the suspension of new riders for the following week to establish consistent routines. New protocols will ensure that only students who are properly registered and have confirmed bus routes will be allowed to board. Additionally, students living within a half-mile radius of the schools will not be provided with bus transportation, except in defined circumstances.
As part of the changes, specific pickup and drop-off arrangements have been put in place at various schools to enhance overall transportation operations. For example, at Summit Elementary School, two dedicated traffic lanes have been established for drop-offs, alongside designated drop-off zones. Parents of students attending Jerome Middle School are encouraged to utilize specific routes to access the school in order to improve traffic flow around the area.
As the Jerome School District works through these challenges, the focus remains on ensuring safe and reliable transportation for its students, with steps being taken to address the ongoing issues effectively.
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Additional Resources
- KIVI TV: Jerome School District Addresses Bus System Chaos
- Google Search: Jerome School District transportation issues
- KMVT: School District Addresses First Week School Transportation Issues
- Wikipedia: School transportation in the United States
- KTVB: Jerome School District Cancels Thursday’s Classes
- Google News: Jerome School District bus issues
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