FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – Flagler County’s school district is planning a major safety overhaul of its school bus system.
The district will introduce an advanced, real-time communication system and fixed bus routes for drivers to improve student safety.
Parents have raised concerns to News 6 about outdated practices and dangerous bus routes in the area.
“In the past two weeks, we’ve had two of the parents almost hit by a car while the stop arm was out and the lights were on. It’s scary,” said Christy Butler.
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Butler, whose second and third graders ride the bus, said her stop on Old Kings Road near the Eagle Lake neighborhood was becoming unsafe.
She was among the parents who attended a school board meeting this week demanding change.
“They’re now going to bring the bus stop into the neighborhood to keep our kids safe and parents safe,” she said.
The Flagler district’s transportation team says it is listening to parents’ concerns. They are visiting different bus stops to re-examine safety conditions.
A major new feature the district is rolling out is a real-time communication system that allows parents to track buses.
“If there’s a change on that bus, the parents will now see the change. If your bus is 15 minutes delayed, the parents will see it on that spreadsheet,” said OJ Walker, the district’s transportation director.
Walker also said the district is creating fixed routes for drivers so students will have the same drivers and routes from kindergarten through 12th grade.
The district is making permanent kindergarten seating on buses to ensure substitute drivers do not let young children off without a parent or guardian present.
“Heading into the first two to three weeks of school there’s always going to be hiccups but I’m confident the rest of the school year will, hopefully, go well,” Butler said.
Like many districts, Flagler is also looking to hire more bus drivers to make the new system work efficiently. The district currently needs a dozen drivers. A new incentive being considered is hiring drivers without commercial driver’s licenses and helping them obtain their CDL.