Late School Buses in New York Are Affecting Education?

A New York mom is blaming her daughter's late school bus for negatively affecting her education.

If you have a child that rides the school bus daily you've probably encountered a bus that's running late at one time or another. Anytime it happens it's usually at the worst time possible, right? Unfortunately, it does happen and can be frustrating but does a consistently late school bus negatively affect a child's education?

New York Mom Blames Late School Bus

A mom in Albany, New York has had enough of her daughter's school bus being late almost every day and is demanding that something be done to fix the issue because it's having an impact on her education. Things have gotten so bad for Kim Fortune and her daughter that she contacted an area news affiliate in the Albany area to see if they might be able to help.

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Fortune told WRGB that the repeatedly late bus is "making her feel like her child is the last priority, and she fears it’s having a big impact on her child's education."

She went on to explain that every morning Kim and her daughter stand at the corner bus stop at the times the school provided for pick up and almost every day they just wait, and wait.

Fortune also said that the bus company recently told her that the pick-up time would be later in the morning, setting the current pick-up time between 8:20 and 8:35 a.m. Even after the change the bus still runs late and recently showed up at 8:50 a.m.

Finish Up Fridays at New York School

Buses showing up that late often leads each child on the bus to arrive at school really late and in turn affects the way the teacher teaches the class. Fortune said that her daughter's teacher started something a few weeks into the school year called "Finish up Fridays" because they’re so late. Just like it sounds, "Finish Up Fridays" gives children the chance to finish up what that class didn’t start early in the week because buses were late.

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Fortune's daughter is a student at Arbor Hill Elementary and is taken to and from school by the City School District of Albany's bus provider, First Student. Fortune said that all she wants is for the bus to be on time so that she and her daughter feel like their needs are being met.

First Student did respond to Fortune's issues saying,

"At First Student, our goal is to always transport students in a safe and timely manner. We certainly understand the frustration and concern families feel if a bus is late. The core of the issue is a nationwide school bus driver shortage. Depending on daily staffing levels, we are having to adjust some bus routes. While this can cause delays, it enables us to provide transportation to all students."

The City School District of Albany also responded to Fortune's complaints saying,

"The driver shortage, and the inconsistency of service that has resulted from it, have created numerous frustrations and ongoing challenges for students, families and schools since the pandemic. We know that there have been many days when this has disrupted students' school days, as well as the work schedules of their parents and guardians. We apologize to our families for these inconsistencies and frustrations, which are frustrating for our [sic] everyone in our school district and at First Student as well."