Evesham officials acknowledge troubled bus rollout; propose staffing and process changes

Evesham Township School District leaders told the board the district experienced an unusually difficult transportation rollout and outlined immediate and longer-term fixes, including reorganizing the transportation office, adding clerical support and targeting problematic routes for correction.

Superintendent Dr. Smith said the start of the school year “has been very rough” and described the root causes as poorly built routes, overreliance on routing software, inconsistent communication and insufficient peak-time staffing. The district listed specific changes: a single transportation coordinator role, a transportation specialist assistant, temporary afternoon-office support during the transition and two half-time clerical FTEs for enduring coverage. The superintendent said a standard operating procedures manual and preserved route histories will be used to reduce future start-of-year disruptions.

The board heard that Brianna Wharton was the recommended candidate for a site-supervisor role; the superintendent said she brings experience from in-house roles through site supervision with a contractor. The business administrator, who has spent recent weeks directly working the transportation office, told the board the district has met with contractors, reshaped routes for efficiency and is targeting particularly problematic routes for fixes.

A parent in public comment described an individual special-education student who was required to board a bus more than an hour earlier than peers and whose pickup time changed repeatedly without direct parent notification. Julia Smell said her son, who has an IEP and a history of elopement, has had multiple morning pickup-time changes and requested either reassignment to a nearer route or permission for the family to drive him to a closer stop. Board members and staff said they would follow up directly.

Board votes during the meeting approved routine personnel, curriculum and finance items; the personnel slate (item 10) and other agenda items passed by roll call. The transportation staffing recommendation appeared on the agenda as a recommended personnel action; the personnel item vote carried as recorded in the public proceedings, but the meeting did not include a separate roll-call line-by-line readout linking the name Brianna Wharton to item numbers in the public portion of the transcript.

Next steps: the district said it will continue route adjustments, add clerical coverage for phone response and preserve route histories for future planning. Staff asked parents to report ongoing issues and said the transportation office would follow up with families who raised specific concerns.