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Banning Unified hears booster complaints about athlete transportation; board asks staff for follow-up
Summary
A booster club leader described repeated transportation breakdowns that left student-athletes stranded and forced coaches to use personal vehicles. The board agreed to add transportation to a future agenda for staff follow-up and discussed use of contracted charter services when drivers are unavailable.
Angelica Lyons, president and treasurer of the Banning Football Booster, told the board that repeated transportation problems last school year disrupted athletics, at times leaving cheerleaders and players stranded and forcing coaches to use personal vehicles to transport equipment and students.
"During our 02/2024 football season, we had a transportation issue during two of our games...Our head coach had to drive his own personal vehicle that night to get all the necessary safety equipment out there for our players," Lyons said, describing delays and a van breakdown that left squads waiting or making multiple trips.
Lyons urged the board to "please look into the transportation department and figure out what is going on to cause such issues" and asked that the topic be put on a future agenda so the district can provide answers and improve scheduling for the upcoming school year.
District staff later described how the district supplements its own drivers with contracted charter vendors for field trips and athletics when needed. A staff member said the district solicits quotes from multiple vendors and "always go[s] at the lowest one," and noted that vendors typically ask for seven days' notice but "will take as short as four hours notice if they have the availability." Staff also said the district recently hired a fully certificated licensed bus driver, is interviewing another this week, and has two additional people in the training program.
Board members agreed to add transportation as a follow-up item to a future meeting. At the June 30 session, members said they wanted staff to bring back information to address the issues Lyons described and to report on staffing and contractor use so the district can better ensure reliable transportation for students and extracurricular programs.
Next steps: the board voted on other agenda items and concluded the meeting; trustees explicitly agreed to place transportation on a future agenda for staff follow-up and a summer-school recap in August.
