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Parent calls for formal bus RFID policy after 6-year-old boarded wrong bus
Summary
At the Nov. 4 Webster Board of Education meeting, parent Brian Mason described his 6-year-old daughter boarding the wrong bus and urged the district to adopt a written RFID/tagging policy, driver training and public procedures to ensure consistent use and accountability.
Brian Mason, a parent of a first grader at State Road Elementary, told the Webster Central School District Board of Education on Nov. 4 that a district RFID bus-tagging system failed when his 6-year-old daughter boarded the wrong bus.
Mason said the technology itself "completely failed" not because it malfunctioned but because it "wasn't used," alleging a bus driver did not require students to scan their tags. He told the board there is no publicly available procedure explaining how the system is supposed to operate and said that lack of documented expectations leaves families without assurance that a similar mistake cannot happen again.
"When we tell parents that their child's safety is being protected by a system like this, we need to be able to stand by that — not with promises, but with process," Mason said.
Mason said he appreciated initial communication from district staff but said parents still had "no timeline, no documented policy, no assurances" that the problem will be fixed. He asked the board to direct staff to develop a written policy, make the procedures public, and incorporate training for drivers and transportation staff.
The board did not engage in extended dialogue during the public forum; the meeting moved to adjournment after Mason's remarks. The transcript records Mason's request but does not record a board motion or commitment to a specific timeline or corrective action during the meeting.
What happened next: the meeting adjourned with no formal board action recorded on this item. If the board or district issues a written policy or further response, that would be reflected in subsequent board materials and future meeting minutes.
