No major problems on first day of school in Wake County
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- All things considered, so far, it has been a good start for the Wake County School System's Transportation Department.
ABC11 has learned that there were 910 buses on the road Monday morning carrying some 75,000 students, which is a record in Wake County.
Wake County School Superintendent Jim Merrill says those numbers could go up. He says this year, they've had 19,000 requests from people looking for a bus stop. Last year, it was less than half that, with 7,500 people seeking a stop.
"Either that's a tremendous increase," Merrill said, "or we've duplicated requests. So we've been trying to plan for that today."
To save money, the school system made a number of changes to bus routes this year, consolidating as they try to get more kids on each bus.
That has meant fewer neighborhood stops and more stops on busier roads which, in turn, have led to both safety concerns and slower commutes.
However, Merrill said funding hasn't kept up with enrollment and they need to find ways to save money.
"We're also trying to increase the efficiency of time on the bus as well as managing it to your budget," said Merrill. "In other words, can we get the kids to school faster and get them home more quickly after school?"
What's more, Merrill says they've been getting a lot of requests for special exceptions.
"A lot of what we've gotten over the summer is, 'Can there be a drop off unique to my situation after school? Can there be consideration for after school care? Can there be one closer to my house,'" said Merrill. "Those are the exceptions that will get considered, but we have to first set the standard routes, the standard stops, and see how full our buses are. How much time it takes both getting to school and getting home and then look at what can be the exceptions."
Merrill says the school system is still looking for full-time bus drivers.
"We will probably have subs running routes today on the first day of the school year which is not ideal but we don't have all the vacancies filled with bus drivers," he said.
Parents are encouraged to go online at www.wcpss.net to confirm the location and stop time of a child's bus if they are experiencing problems. Do not assume the bus is on the same schedule as last year.
