News Summary
The Jerome School District is grappling with significant issues due to a new school busing system, leading to confusion and delays. Parents are frustrated as inaccurate routing software resulted in incorrect addresses, causing students to be dropped off at unintended locations. Despite ongoing improvements, operational challenges and recent cancellations have heightened parent concerns about the new system. The district is making adjustments to enhance busing operations and reaffirm trust among parents and students relying on these transportation services.
Jerome, Idaho – The Jerome School District has faced significant challenges resulting from the implementation of a new school busing system, leading to widespread confusion and a series of cancellations last week. Parents expressed their frustrations over the situation, with many choosing to drive their children to school instead of relying on the bus service.
The transportation issues came to a head recently when the district’s new routing software, linked to Google Maps, proved to be inaccurate for Jerome County. This resulted in incorrect addresses being given for students, with some routes leading to cornfields and other unintended locations. Additionally, many parents reported receiving late notifications regarding their children’s eligibility to ride the bus, leading to heightened frustrations.
Despite the ongoing difficulties, the district’s transportation director acknowledged continuous improvements are being made, stating that the situation is “getting better and better.” In contrast, the school superintendent noted that while there has been significant progress compared to the initial week of operations, parents have experienced a series of unacceptable issues that affected their trust in the system.
During the past week, classes were canceled on August 21 and 22 due to safety concerns stemming from operational changes required for the bus fleet. As a result of these cancellations, the district had bused 1,300 students, a notable increase from the previous count of 950, which led to logistical challenges including overcrowding and delays.
A software glitch played a key role in the confusion surrounding student bus assignments and disqualifications. The transportation and IT departments are currently working to rectify these issues, focusing on manual data entry to correct routing errors. The district is encouraging parents to fill out transportation forms to help address the routing issues more effectively, with expectations of noticeable improvements in the upcoming weeks.
In an effort to create a more organized transportation system, the district has taken steps to ensure that only properly registered students with confirmed routes will be allowed on buses. Furthermore, students living within a half-mile of schools will not receive bus transportation, with some exceptions outlined by the district.
Specific protocols have also been established for pick-up and drop-off patterns at several schools to enhance the transportation operations. For instance, at Summit Elementary School, new traffic lanes for drop-off and designated zones have been created to streamline morning and afternoon traffic. Parents of students at Jerome Middle School are being asked to use specific access routes to help minimize congestion around the school.
To meet the increased demand for transportation, the district is still in the process of hiring additional bus drivers. This move aims to alleviate some of the current strain on the existing transport system caused by the recent changes.
Overall, the Jerome School District is making adjustments to enhance its busing operations and regain the confidence of the parents and students relying on the transportation services. The district plans to confirm addresses and ridership information with parents, pausing new riders for the following week to establish more reliable routines and improve overall efficiency in the upcoming school year.
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Additional Resources
- KIVI TV: Jerome School District Addresses Bus System Chaos
- Google Search: Jerome School District transportation issues
- KMVT: School District Addresses First Week School Transportation Issues
- Wikipedia: School transportation in the United States
- KTVB: Jerome School District Cancels Thursday’s Classes
- Google News: Jerome School District bus issues
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BALTIMORE STAFF WRITER The BALTIMORE STAFF WRITER represents the experienced team at HEREBaltimore.com, your go-to source for actionable local news and information in Baltimore, Baltimore County, and beyond. Specializing in "news you can use," we cover essential topics like product reviews for personal and business needs, local business directories, politics, real estate trends, neighborhood insights, and state news affecting the area—with deep expertise drawn from years of dedicated reporting and strong community input, including local press releases and business updates. We deliver top reporting on high-value events such as the Baltimore Book Festival, Preakness Stakes, and Artscape. Our coverage extends to key organizations like the Baltimore Chamber of Commerce and Visit Baltimore, plus leading businesses in shipping and healthcare that power the local economy such as the Port of Baltimore and Johns Hopkins Medicine. As part of the broader HERE network, we provide comprehensive, credible insights into Maryland's dynamic landscape.
