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Douglas County parent warns students are missing instruction after buses arrive late; district says it hired drivers and raised pay
Summary
A Douglasville parent told the Douglas County School Board that buses have arrived 45–60 minutes late, forcing his daughter to miss class time; district staff said they added at least 10 drivers, increased pay, and gave transportation direct authority to notify families.
Tony Outlaw, a Douglasville resident and parent of a New Manchester High senior, told the Douglas County School Board on Sept. 2 that buses have been consistently late since the second week of school, leaving students to find alternate transportation and missing instructional time.
"Buses were 45 to an hour late ... My concern is that my daughter is missing an average of 2 hours of instructions for her first period class," Outlaw said during audience participation, describing early weeks when buses ran on schedule and a later drop-off that required his daughter to use ride‑hail services.
District leaders acknowledged the problem and laid out steps already taken. A district speaker told the board the transportation office tracks late vehicles and has been given the authority to communicate directly with parents as principals are often tied up with school responsibilities. "We have added at a minimum, 10 additional new bus drivers," the speaker said, adding the district "increased the compensation for bus drivers" to boost attendance and staffing.
Board members and administrators discussed additional causes and mitigations: route complexity, increased special-needs routing, roadway congestion and accidents on major arteries, and the domino effect of adding stops. The district noted it has ordered larger buses to increase capacity and is examining operational efficiency — including whether adjustments to stops or routing could reduce time to stops while preserving service.
No formal vote or policy change was taken at the meeting; district staff said they will continue monitoring on-time metrics and communicate further updates to the board at upcoming meetings.
Ending: The board heard the complaint during public comment and district staff described near-term remedies and monitoring steps; the board signaled it will follow up on transportation efficiency and continue oversight at future meetings.
