School district issues apology for bus problems, sets plans to improve service

The Beaufort County School District will add and reroute buses, adjust dismissal times and set up an information hotline to alleviate transportation problems reported by students and parents this week.

The district issued a news release Friday apologizing for the inconvenience busing problems have caused.

During the first week of school, buses ran late, some students were not picked up from stops and some students arrived home late. Bus stops and routes changed, which confused parents, and parent phone calls to the bus office were not answered. The bus company's voicemail at times was full.

New routes in new attendance zones, resulting from the opening of three new schools, caused the biggest problem, the release said, and created a "domino effect" felt at other schools.

The district's transportation provider, Durham School Services, also wrote a letter Friday to apologize to parents. Durham's contract with the district began July 1.

The letter was sent home with some students Friday and will be distributed to others next week, school district spokesman Jesse Washington said.

" ... (We) would like to express our sincere apologies for failing to deliver on-time services," the letter reads. "We are working around the clock to correct some of the routing challenges we have faced this school year and are confident we will have these fixed in the next few days."

The district provided plans for alleviating the problems:

• Three more buses will be added Monday to deal with overcrowding on some routes. More students are riding buses this year than anticipated.

• Whale Branch Early College High School buses traveling to Yemassee, then running a route at James J. Davis Early Childhood Education Center, will be rerouted. That will decrease the wait time for Davis students.

• Bluffton police and district staff will help buses deal with traffic congestion in the Bluffton area.

• Dismissal times will be adjusted and staff added to bus lots to speed up the loading of students.

• Bus marshals will ride buses if disciplinary issues are reported.

• New bus company drivers will meet daily with leaders.

• An information hotline -- 843-521-2914 or 1-877-527-4200 -- will be used to give transportation updates. Immediate problems should be reported to 843-322-0770.

• Additional phone lines have been added to cope with an overwhelming number of calls. Durham can be reached at 843-322-0770, 843-322-0761, 843-322-0763 and 843-322-0766.