Letter from district concerning bus changes

Below is a letter that is coming home with your child today. Please review it so there are no issues that come up that put us all in a bind.

The first day has been great!!

Please be patient with dismissal!

Aaron Jones
Principal, Central Elementary

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Dear Parents of students who ride the bus,

Student safety is the primary concern when it comes to transporting our students. In that regard we want to go over some general safety issues that may arise in the upcoming year.
Changing the bus or destinations in which your child will ride in the afternoon.

• Some parents have set routines; everyday your child rides the same bus to the same location. That is great, because the driver knows that student and where he/she lives and this is a safe situation for the child.

• Some parents have set routines also that may differ than that above, for example a child may ride bus “A” on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, while on Wednesday and Friday the child rides bus “B”. As long as this is a set pattern, this is also great because the drivers knows that student and where he/she lives or where he/she needs to be dropped off and this is a safe situation for the child.

• A big safety concern however is; when the schools get phone calls saying that a child needs to ride a different bus to a different location. This causes concern because:

1. The child may not know where he/she is going thus confusing the child and he/she may get off at a wrong location because the driver may not know the child.

2. We cannot be 100% sure that the person making the phone call has the authority to make that change for the child.

3. It becomes very confusing for the school and our students at dismissal time trying to make sure what bus the child is supposed to ride. When there is confusion, a child may not know what he/she is supposed to do.

NEW PROCEDURES for the Safety of our Students:

1. We ask that if there will be a change, we receive either a hand written note with a signature, a fax with a signature, or an e-mail with a PDF with a written signature. We must receive this change no less than 24 hours in advance.

2. We do realize that there will be emergencies; however, these should be limited and will be handled on a case by case basis.

We understand this may take more planning, but it is for the safety and welfare of all of our children. We want to ensure every child is dropped off at the proper location with the appropriate supervision.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation as we try and make changes for the safety of all the children of the Union R-XI School District.

Sincerely,
Steve Bryant, Superintendent
Union R-XI School District