There were problems with transportation Tuesday afternoon after Jefferson City Public Schools' first day of summer school, but JCPS officials said Wednesday that a change in when some buses go to certain locations should overcome confusion and that other delays Tuesday were not out of the ordinary for first days.
JCPS contracts with First Student Inc. for its school bus service.
Frank Underwood, JCPS transportation, safety and security coordinator, said some students got off their buses at home instead of at the Boys & Girls Club of Jefferson City or for YMCA care.
Underwood said one student who was supposed to get off the bus after school for YMCA care instead got off at the stop for a day care near Cedar Hill Elementary School where she had gone for after-school care before this summer.
The father of the girl told the News Tribune he was upset and his kindergarten-aged daughter had been scared to return to summer school Wednesday.
After getting off the bus, he said, his daughter walked two blocks to the day care and told staff there that she was lost, and the day care made the appropriate calls using contact information on the bracelet the girl was wearing. Underwood said kindergarten, first- and second-grade students wear those bracelets so they can be identified quickly by drivers or after-school care staff.
He said a couple of other students Tuesday fell asleep and missed their bus stops. Other students were thought not to have been dropped off for YMCA care, but this was because parents had picked up their children from the bus before the students had a chance to check in, he added.
The schools near the Boys & Girls Club of Jefferson City and YMCA centers - including Cedar Hill, Thorpe Gordon and South elementary schools - that have afternoon buses with routes that include those after-school care centers will start having those buses go to those locations first to avoid confusion, Underwood said.
"There probably was just a handful that ran according to the schedule," Underwood acknowledged of general bus delays after school Tuesday.
Several people commented on Facebook about several different buses running at least 30-40 minutes late.
JCPS reported on Facebook: "We realize there were issues today and we appreciate your patience and understanding as we work closely with First Student to make tomorrow's afternoon transportation much smoother."
The post from JCPS told parents to wait 30 minutes after their child's scheduled drop-off time before calling their child's school if there was a delay.
Underwood said there always should be someone at each school office until the last bus on a route from that school clears - when all students are off the bus and the bus is returning to First Student.
He encouraged families facing bus issues to first contact First Student at 573-634-7645.
He attributed the delays to normal issues as routes get started at the beginning of school - "it's first day stuff" for students, drivers and schools, he said.
"This is as good a startup as we've had in any of them," he said of Tuesday's first day of bus service resuming among others in his eight years of experience.
The News Tribune contacted First Student but did not receive a response Wednesday.