Some Ravenna students spent hours on their buses Wednesday night. What happened?
Some Ravenna parents were angry and worried Wednesday when their children, including some kindergarteners, spent hours on a school bus and arrived home hours late.
"Great job, Ravenna school district," Joe Miracle-Fox posted on the Facebook group Portage County and Neighbors Wednesday. "It's 6:03 p.m. and my kindergartener is not home."
Ravenna Superintendent Laura Hebert posted a transportation update on the district's website, apologizing for the recent "inconvenience" and pledging to add staff to drive buses and communicate more with parents.
Miracle-Fox stated that his child arrived home at 6:22 p.m. Another parent, Lindsey Stone, said her son, Joey, who ends his day at West Park, Ravenna's kindergarten building, at about 3:45 p.m., didn't arrive home until 6:45 p.m.
"Luckily, he loves the bus, so when he got off the bus, he was happy and smiling," Stone said. "But what about kids who have sensory issues and can't be on the bus that long?"
What caused Ravenna bus delay?
Hebert said the Ravenna district, like many school districts, is facing a shortage of bus drivers. Road construction also has created some issues for buses, including the widening of West Main Street, which causes traffic backups directly in front of Brown Middle School.
In addition, Wednesday's storms damaged trees and telephone poles in the area, which led to road closures and forced buses to be rerouted.
"Our director of transportation, our mechanic and our transportation secretary are all driving routes," Hebert said. "Although they are licensed to drive these buses and vans, this arrangement is not ideal or a good long-term solution."
The district has hired an additional person to staff its phones and has added ParentSquare, which allows parents to get updates on bus issues by email, text message and an app.
"I am grateful for the understanding and grace our community has shown, and am confident that we will quickly work through the back-to-school kinks," she said.
The district has changed its school start and end times and has eliminated shuttles for elementary students, which she said has helped.
"The staggered start/stop times, along with the elimination of shuttles, have allowed for more efficient routes — we just need enough bus drivers to drive the routes," she said.
Parents criticize 'lack of communication'
When children didn't arrive home at the normal time, parents got messages through the ParentSquare system. But Stone said the information wasn't up to date.
A notification late Wednesday stated that a bus driver called off that afternoon and students would be sent home on alternate buses.
Stone, who was volunteering at her church's food pantry, said she received texts from the school district telling her that her son was on the bus, but they had incorrect estimates on when he'd be home. Later, there was no communication when those times weren't met. Meanwhile, she said, her husband was reaching out, asking her why their son still wasn't home.
Nobody was answering the phone at the bus garage or the school, Stone said. She called the non-emergency number at the Ravenna Police Department, worried that a crash or some other serious problem had arisen.
The happy, smiling boy arrived home at 6:45 p.m.
"When they get to be two to three hours late, when you could have driven to Cleveland and back, that's when the ball gets dropped on communication," she said.
Later, Stone said she was told that the bus driver asked some students for their addresses. Joey, she said, doesn't know his address.
"The biggest thing for me was lack of communication," she said.
She believed most of the issues had been resolved by Thursday, but decided to take her son to school the next morning and called the bus garage to let them know.
"I think they're doing the best they can," she said. "At least they're trying."
Joey, she said, wasn't happy that his mom was taking him to school the next morning.
"He said, 'No, Mommy, bus,' " Stone said.
Next board meeting
The Ravenna Board of Education will hold its next meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday at Ravenna High School.
An agenda for the meeting has not been posted on the district's website.
Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at 330-298-1139 or dsmith@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Ravena superintendent blames staff shortage for bus delays
