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Parents raise safety concerns after chaotic pickup, bus-route cuts at Ottumwa Comm School District meeting
Summary
Several parents told the Ottumwa Comm School District board that first-day pickup and recent bus-route reductions left children unaccounted for, forced some to walk alone, and exposed operational communication failures; the superintendent and staff described fixes already underway.
Several parents told the Ottumwa Comm School District board that chaotic first-day pickup procedures and cuts to school bus routes left children unaccounted for and exposed safety risks.
"You put my children and every child that attends Alma and Farney Elementary at risk," said Christina Freimoyer, a parent of a first- and second-grader, describing a pickup in which staff released students without consistent barcode checks, children wandered the halls and office staff could not tell parents where some students were. "It was so chaotic that 3 second graders from the same class were wandering the halls by themselves."
Why it matters: Parents said schedule confusion and a reduced number of routes led to overcrowded buses, late…
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