Parent tells board longstanding bus routing problems are making students late

Mike Umford, a parent of two district students, told the Board of Education during public comment that the district's transportation system has been "a mess" in the first days of the school year, with repeated late buses, multiple route changes and inconsistent drivers. "My younger son got 4 different routes and 4 different house drivers when he first got it," he said, and added that some high-school buses run nearly empty while elementary drop-off areas are congested. "It's been late every day... it's kinda been a mess," he said.

Umford asked whether the district has begun a review of its transportation operations and whether privatization or other scheduling changes were being considered. Vanessa, a board member who handled the public-comment follow-up, asked to collect contact information and requested a follow-up meeting with the parent. "Can I just get you with Vanessa just to get your name and then I can, we can follow-up with you?" she said.

The parent framed the problem as not new: "It's not like it's the first time it's happened either," he said, and asked whether the district is tracking options such as opt-outs for families who routinely drop off students. Board members acknowledged the complaint and invited staff follow-up, but no formal motion or policy change was recorded in the meeting record.

Context from the meeting: the district's superintendent and other staff later presented routine operational reports (tenure, staffing, finance) and did not offer an immediate operational update on transportation during the meeting. The transcript records the board promising to follow up rather than taking immediate action.

Next steps: a board member collected the parent's contact information for district staff follow-up; no timeline was provided in public remarks for a staff report or policy response.