Poquoson parents, students press school board on repeated bus delays and athletics cancellations

Several Poquoson parents and student-athletes told the Poquoson City School Board on Oct. 21 that repeated bus delays and a lack of backup transportation have disrupted after‑school athletics and weekend invitational meets. Public commenters and board members described multiple incidents this fall in which buses were late or unavailable, including a cross country meet canceled with less than 24 hours’ notice and a varsity team that could not run in a sanctioned race because a bus arrived more than an hour late.

Those incidents prompted parents to ask the board for contingency plans, such as pre‑signed permission slips allowing parents to drive athletes when drivers are unavailable, additional training for coaches or volunteers to hold commercial driver’s licenses, and more even distribution of route doubles so the same routes are not repeatedly delayed.

Why it matters: Parents said the delays affected student performance and prevented athletes from competing for awards and postseason qualification. Board members and staff said driver shortages are a national problem and that the division must balance daily transportation needs with weekend and extracurricular trips.

Superintendent James Tillett’s operations staff described changes already underway. Director of Operations/Transportation Mr. Roberts said the division recently reached full route coverage for the first time this school year after a new hire assigned to Route 35 completed training, but he cautioned the division remains “bare bones” if another driver is absent. Roberts said the system has one substitute driver with limited availability and that double runs still occur when staff are sick.

Roberts detailed operational steps the division has taken: increased manual checks beyond the TripFinder/RouteFinder software (including direct confirmation calls to drivers and school trip coordinators), new staffing follow‑up for field trip scheduling, fixes to the StopFinder parent app invitations, and ongoing recruitment to add certified drivers. He said one recently trained driver reduced pressure on routes but added that the transportation specialist still drives a route daily in some cases.

Parents and community members urged additional policies and creative options. Sherry Dykstra, a parent and athletics supporter, recommended pre‑season permission forms allowing parents to transport students when all parents consent. Daniel Hendren, another parent, presented a simple statistical summary of his children’s route (Route 31/Central) showing consistent lateness and asked that the division “peanut butter spread the pain” so that repeated delays do not fall on the same routes. Maria Heldreth, whose son runs varsity cross country, said a senior placed third in a varsity race but had no official result when the team was forced to run with the JV field and thus lost eligibility for individual and team awards.

Board response and next steps: Board members thanked parents for speaking and commended drivers for difficult work. Roberts said staff would continue to refine confirmations before field trips and to pursue additional drivers. The board unanimously approved a proclamation recognizing School Bus Safety Week (Oct. 20–24, 2025) and discussed encouraging recruitment of drivers during that week. No formal policy change to allow parent transportation or to require coaches to hold CDLs was adopted on Oct. 21; the speakers asked the board to consider policy revisions and contingency protocols.

"We have a national bus shortage," Dykstra said in public comment. "What's the backup plan if this happens again?"