Parents and drivers assail Nampa School District bus rollout; board outlines fixes and timeline

Hundreds of parents, bus drivers and advocates packed a Nampa School District meeting on Sept. 16 to press the board over widespread transportation failures after the district switched contractors over the summer. Public speakers described long waits, unsafe drop-offs and poor communication; district leaders acknowledged the problems and outlined corrective steps.

The most urgent concerns came from parents of special-needs students and long‑time drivers. "I have received zero communication from The District in any way shape or form for 14 business days," Becky Evans, a Zone 4 parent, told trustees during public comment, saying she had emailed and phoned repeatedly after the district earlier said it would clear a backlog in about 48 hours. Visha Anderson, a parent of a wheelchair‑dependent child, said the bus arrived 45 minutes late on the first day and drivers did not know how to operate a lift; she said the child's pickup and drop‑off windows later stretched to nearly two hours a day.

The board's leadership and the superintendent, Dr. Russell, said the district moved quickly to correct the most serious faults and to improve communication. Dr. Russell confirmed the district increased the busing budget by roughly $700,000 this year and described a compressed startup after awarding a late‑June contract following a May bid process. District staff said the first weeks of school produced very high call volumes — as many as 4,000 calls in a single day during the first week — and an initial backlog of more than 1,000 voicemails and online forms; staff reported contacting 815 families and closing about 76.5% of the earliest backlog after triage.

Among the remedial steps announced: the district established a transportation call center to triage complaints, consolidated buses to a single yard to improve operations and fueling, added vehicles (the contractor said it brought 13 more buses into service), and separated radio channels for general and special‑education routes. First Student, the contracted operator, said it will install driver tablets for pre‑ and post‑trip checks and navigation, with driver training scheduled for late September and early October. A separate parent‑facing bus‑tracking app is expected to pilot in mid‑October and roll out fully by late October or early November, the district said.

Trustees and administrators also addressed safety questions about so‑called "white vans" used on some routes. First Student and the district said those vans are intended for door‑to‑door service on low‑load runs and that they do not carry wheelchair passengers; wheelchair users require yellow, lift‑equipped buses. Trustees requested a public list of routes using vans, photos of the vehicles in service and confirmation that vans are operating only as door‑to‑door stops.

On procurement, members of the public alleged the district favored an operator before the bid opening; the district defended the lawfulness of the bidding process and said one bidder was found non‑responsive in the review. Trustees emphasized the district’s legal constraints and said many corrective actions are operational rather than governance changes.

The district also outlined a cadence for further changes: it said major route changes are scheduled in two‑week cycles, with a large set of adjustments already made on Sept. 10 and another planned for Oct. 1; safety‑critical fixes would be enacted immediately. Dr. Russell and transportation staff urged parents to use the district’s new intake form so issues can be tracked and prioritized; trustees said they will post timelines, state safety guidelines and financial details on the district website.

The board promised another transportation update in October. The meeting closed with trustees thanking drivers and staff and with a pledge to continue the daily troubleshooting the district said is needed to bring routes and special‑education transport into reliable service.