Teachers tell Del Valle ISD board lack of late buses and earlier calendar start threaten extracurricular participation and graduation readiness
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Summary
Teachers said cancelled late buses and an earlier academic calendar start create barriers to student participation in extracurriculars and complicate receipt of college partner grades; they urged more transparency and additional bus funding.
Two campus teachers told the Del Valle ISD board during public comment on Aug. 19 that changes to transportation and the academic calendar are limiting students’ ability to participate in extracurricular activities and creating stress over college‑credit courses.
Brett Covington, a campus teacher and extracurricular coordinator, said recruiting students to clubs and activities is harder when late buses are not available. Covington described telling parents during orientation to allow students to ride late buses, then later learning those buses for certain zones ("Lehi"/local route names in his remarks) had been canceled. "I feel like a fool because I was not well informed," he said, adding that unsupervised students waiting from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. is not acceptable. Covington said lack of transportation will be a barrier to reaching a campus goal of 100 percent extracurricular engagement.
Katrina Van Houten, a math teacher at the high school of 14 years, urged the board to consider later start dates or added time before the school year begins to allow technology deployment and to give college partners (she cited ACC/college grading) time to deliver grades used for graduation placement. "Last year even on the day of graduation we had kids not sure where they were going to be placed because we didn't have those grades from ACC," she said. Van Houten also pressed for transparency about the transportation decisions; she said the high school principal had identified budgeted funds for two buses but that one north/south routing may still leave gaps.
Both speakers asked the district to provide clearer communication and to consider budget or routing solutions that ensure students who need after‑school supervision and transportation can participate in activities that support academic engagement.
Trustees did not act on the requests during public comment; staff and campus leaders were available to follow up outside the public comment period.
