What can be done to fix school bus times? What some SC residents say

After a move to early bus times drew attention in the Lexington 1 school district, it became clear many residents throughout the Midlands are dealing with similar issues.

Some elementary students are waiting for the bus as early as 6 a.m. this school year.

Across the district, elementary schools start earlier than middle and high schools – and bus drivers make multiple routes, picking up older students after dropping elementary kids off. Some parents have suggested switching start times.

But this doesn’t necessarily line up with how experts say students learn best, said Mary Beth Hill, spokeswoman for Lexington 1.

“There’s all kinds of research that shows ... teenagers should start later,” Hill said.

Plus, some folks said on social media, even switching times wouldn’t work for everyone.

At the same time as parents in Lexington 1 are adjusting to an earlier schedule, school officials say they need more buses and more drivers.

The district is short about 25 drivers and 20 buses, Hill said. To fix the first part of that problem, Lexington 1 raised bus driver pay by $2 an hour at the start of the school year.

But is it enough for districts to address such shortages at a local level? At least one social media poster took state lawmakers to task for not stepping in:

Though the S.C. Department of Education replaces old buses on a regular basis, department spokesman Ryan Brown said it hasn’t received all the funding it needs for such replacements.

“We have not fully funded the 15-year replacement recycle since 2008-2009,” Brown said. “This past legislative session we were close to being fully funded but ended up (about) 6 million short.”

As South Carolina’s population continues to grow, Brown said, it’s important for the department to be able to keep the bus fleet up to date.

“Our school transportation system must be able to accommodate the growth rate of our state, which is expected to surpass 5 million people by 2020,” Brown said.

Between October and December of this year, 490 new buses will be rolled out across South Carolina, he said.

This story was originally published September 17, 2016 at 6:12 PM.