First Student outlines driver shortages, route changes after start‑of‑year delays; parent says 6‑year‑old left at wrong stop

Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District trustees heard an extended briefing from Michael Johnson, First Student’s local manager, on start‑of‑year transportation problems and fixes, and heard a public comment from a parent who said his 6‑year‑old was left at the wrong stop on Sept. 2 and walked alone.

“Transportation is always a challenging hot topic,” Michael Johnson said, describing labor shortages, changes to bell times and a shift to “all‑island” route coverage the district and company implemented in August. He told the board the company has made recruiting gains — including a candidate travelling to Juneau to take the Commercial Driver’s License exam — but that driver absences, route reconfigurations and new bell times produced late buses and some overloaded routes at the start of school.

Johnson described specific operational steps First Student has taken: consolidating routes to reduce the overall number of daily runs, reassigning students so younger riders sit forward, adding adult monitors where loads are heavy, and adjusting stop combinations where needed. He said the company provides a dispatch phone ((907) 225‑3806) and an online form (firstfeedback.com) for reports and that drivers are trained to follow school‑issued transportation notices.

At public comment, Charles Dodd, a parent, described an incident on Sept. 2 in which his son was put off at the “average daycare” stop instead of Alphabet Kids daycare. “He was forced to walk 1.6 miles up Carlana Lake Road by himself,” Dodd told the board, and said First Student told the child’s mother to “wait and not to notify anybody like the police” while the company made calls. Dodd asked why 911 was not contacted immediately and asked the district to adopt a clear standard operating procedure for a missing or misplaced child.

Board members asked follow‑up questions about bullying on buses, assigned seating, and how the company and district communicate changes to families. Johnson said afternoons are typically the more challenging period because students are awake and active; he described strategies such as assigned seating, roving monitors, and pairing vulnerable riders earlier in the loading process to reduce incidents.

Superintendent Ford Slack acknowledged the significance of the parent’s concerns and the operational challenges but did not make new commitments beyond offering the district’s complaint form and promising follow‑up. The board clerk offered to provide the parent the district’s formal complaint paperwork so the district could complete a finding of fact and follow the formal complaint process.

Why it matters: student transportation is a direct safety issue for families and the district. The board recommended the district and contractor work together on clearer parent communication, standardized incident procedures and faster escalation steps for missing children; a parent asked that calling 911 be the first action when a young child cannot be located.

Board response and next steps: trustees thanked Johnson for the detailed report, asked staff to send reminders to families about reporting procedures, and asked the district to provide any route and schedule updates to schools and parents. The parent left contact information and the clerk agreed to follow up with formal complaint paperwork so the district could document the incident and perform a formal review.