LEE COUNTY, Fla., -Parents of Lee County students are fed up with buses consistently being late to pick up their kids in the morning.
Parents say while it’s been an ongoing problem, it’s gotten out of hand in recent weeks.
"It's aggravating especially when you can't rely on the transportation for our children to get them to school,” said Tracey Clere, a mother of 2 middle schoolers at Cypress Lake Middle.
While the bus is scheduled to pick up her kids at 7:53 am, over the last 2 weeks it has been consistently tardy and one morning close to an hour late.
“They make jokes about it all the time. I wonder if it'll show up today. are you going to take us? How long are we gonna wait,” Clere said about how her kids feel about late buses.
According to Clere, there are mornings when the bus shows up 30 minutes to an hour late, sometimes not at all and there have been instances where her kids have missed part of their first period class.
As a stay at home parent, she’s been able to drive her kids to school when the bus is late. But she fears she won’t be able to once she finds a job.
"I want to get a job but before i start working i would be fired. I can't get a job if I can't make sure my kids have a ride to school,” Clere said.
The District is now sending out alerts through Parentlink warning when buses are going to be late, but Clere claims the problem still isn’t solved.
“The drivers are still late. It seems like they're trying but its not good enough.”
Lee County School District tells 4 In Your Corner they’re aware of the recent delays. A spokesperson says, “A homeless student pick was added to the route and affected the timing. We are working with the driver now to adjust his route sheet to give more realistic pick-up times for the parents.”
The updated route could take a couple days to take effect.
