Imagine a parent’s fear when their child does not get off the school bus. That was a reality for some parents in the Greater Johnstown School District when classes started this week.
“There was a good amount of parents here and they came basically looking for their children. They was like, ‘Hey, the bus came. I didn’t see my child get off the bus,” said Ruben Dutton, a parent volunteer at the Greater Johnstown Elementary School.
The district requires Pre-K and Kindergarten students who are not met by a guardian at the bus stop to be taken back to school. School officials then contact the guardians to pick up the children.
“Apparently they didn’t get notification from the school. They did not get no notification from the school or didn’t know where the bus was going to stop,” Dutton said.
This year, the Greater Johnstown School District consolidated after the board voted to close Johnstown Middle School in June. District officials said they worked all summer to plan the new bus routes and the redesign is not to blame for the school bus drop-off issues.
“The issues of transportation that we’re working out with our transportation company are very much like the issues that we have every single year in the district,” said Amy Arcurio, the assistant superintendent for Greater Johnstown School District.
Late student registration and address changes that parents did not report contributed to bus drop-off confusion.
“Continue to notify us so we can notify our bus company of what your child may need,” Arcurio said.
“There’s still work for improvement, but today is the best day we’ve had so far,” Ruben said.
School district officials said parents should contact them directly with any problems or concerns by visiting their website or calling the district at: 814-533-5670.