FLAGSTAFF, AZ — Hundreds of students in the Flagstaff Unified School District will no longer be able to take the bus to school. The district said a report was made to the Department of Public Safety regarding overcrowding on the bus.
The changes will start in early January when students come back from winter break.
It’s a move that parents are not happy about.
“We were very taken back when this news came about,” said Leigh Call, who has four kids within FUSD. Two of her kids will be affected by the bus changes.
The district said it is discontinuing routes for all high schoolers who live within city limits. Middle school and high school students who attend magnet programs or are attending the district but choose not to go to their neighborhood school are also part of that list of discontinued routes.
There are some exceptions including high school students who live outside the city limits in areas like Doney Park, Baderville, Parks, Bellemont, Mountainaire, Kachina Village, Cameron, Leupp and more. The district said the changes will not impact Summit High School students or students who are receiving special education and are experiencing homelessness or foster services.
“The primary reason it's happening is because we've got a driver shortage, a national driver shortage,” said Patrick Fleming, the district’s director of transportation.
That driver shortage created a trickle effect. Because they don’t have as many drivers, they’ve had to cut back on routes, which they did at the start of the school year.
However, the catalyst in this quick decision was because a report was made to the Department of Public Safety, Fleming said.
The district said while it is not violating the rules of reaching the bus manufacturers’ capacity, there are times when students are sitting three to a seat and the bus aisle is not clear and students are in the way.
For those families who are affected by the routes being cut, they will receive a city bus pass upon request for the next school semester.
However, some families feel the city bus is not safe for their children.
Parents are concerned about other passengers who won’t all be students. There are also concerns that students will have to walk far to bus stops in the dark while it may be snowing or if there’s ice on the road.
“To us, it's not a safe option and it shifts the burden of responsibility onto the parents and it basically absolves the school district of any liability of taking these children to school,” said Travis Smith, a parent in FUSD.
Parents are also upset that the change is happening so suddenly and right in the middle of the school year.
Fleming said they wanted to wait until the end of this school year, but couldn’t due to DPS’ direction.
“We were not really given a choice by the state, by Department of Public Safety, so it was fairly sudden. But, they actually wanted us to move even faster. We were able to get a little bit of breathing room to make this change effective at the semester break, which is a more of a natural break,” Fleming said.
As for the next school year, Fleming hopes they will be able to hire more bus drivers to reinstate the routes.
ABC15 reached out to DPS about the changes but did not get an answer in time for publication.
The Flagstaff Unified School District said it will have Mountain Line transit sessions for families who have questions or need help learning how to use the transportation system. The district also addressed some concerns families have at this link here.
