In a last weekend push, Houston ISD got most of its students assigned to bus routes – 700 kids still didn’t know how they were getting to class – but Monday morning’s effort was much improved from the week before when one mother was told by a district employee that “10,000” kids still didn’t have assigned routes.
A quick survey of bus and student arrivals Monday morning showed the usual successes and bobbles. Josue Avelai and his younger brother David were waiting outside Sharpstown High for their bus to take them to Carnegie Vanguard High School. The bus was supposed to be there at 7:45 but it was already past 8:15 with no transfer pickup in sight. Asked if this was usual, Josue, a junior, said no, this was not.
At issue may be the money-saving consolidation of bus systems announced by Superintendent Mike Miles in late July. At the same time, it was announced that any students going to school choice schools would have to provide their own transportation for up to three miles from their homes. Previously that had been two miles.
The district has said it would save $3 million consolidating and shortening distances that school choice students are on buses with further transportation efficiencies estimated to save the district a total of $10 million in 2024-25.
By the following school year, she said, "The district hopes to take our transportation costs down from roughly $56 million to $40 million."
All this may not be good news for bus drivers. We talked to one bus driver over the weekend who showed up on August 5 to get their route assignment only to be told there was no route for that person and many other drivers. Instead, for now, they are being assigned to ride along on buses to handle any misbehaving students.
The driver was concerned that they wouldn’t get enough hours in the new position to make their rent. The drivers were told that later in the year when it gets colder they may pick up driving assignments.
click to enlarge
Buses at North Forest.
Photo by Faith Bugenhagen
Over at North Forest arrivals were going smoothly with the exception of one bus that had to be turned around and redirected as it entered the student parking lot rather than the bus drop-off lane.
Last week, Superintendent Mike Miles has predicted that all campuses would be up and running on the first day of school. The one exception, he said, would be Chysalis Middle School whose students is moving across the parking lot to the Lockwood modulars explaining that the modulars are better there.
Shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday, HISD sent out the following email:
In preparation for the start of the 2024-2025 school year, Houston Independent School District has been hard at work ensuring that all students, educators, and families have a great first day. So far, the district has assigned bus routes to over 17,000 students for the upcoming year and has communicated these routes to families through several communications.Around 700 students are still being assigned their stops. The district has reached out to all of these families to let them know that if they have not received their school bus route and stop information, they can call their campus or one of HISD’s transportation services helplines for assistance between 4:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Any student who has not been assigned a route may get on a bus at any stop or route serving their campus. Drivers will pick students up and drop them off even if they are not assigned to a route or stop. The district expects all students to be assigned a permanent stop within 72 hours of their entry into the transportation assignment system.
Families who need further information about their bus stop can call their campus or one of HISD’s transportation services helplines for assistance between 4:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. at one of the numbers below, based on the first number of their route:
1 – Barnett Terminal: (713) 845-5022
2 – Butler Terminal: (713) 726-2100
3 – Central Terminal: (713) 676-9432
4 – Northwest Terminal: (713) 613-3049Transportation Customer Service main phone number: 713-556-5963
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