Here Comes the Bus
The 2008-2009 Perry-Lecompton school year will begin on Friday, August 15th. The district would like to take this opportunity to make each of you aware of proper procedures and behavior expectations prior to loading a school bus or van. Our primary concern is the safety of all students that are being transported. Also, we would like to operate our school transportation system as efficiently as possible. Keeping the safety of students and the idea of maximum efficiency in mind, we would expect the following:
§ Bus and transportation schedules and routing maps will be updated annually prior to the opening of school. Prior to the start of the school year, each bus route will be established based upon pickup at the home residence or a day care provider in that attendance center. If the day care provider changes, the new day care provider must be on an already established route for the student’s attendance center.
§ If your child rode a district school bus last year and pick up/drop off times will remain the same this year, your bus driver will NOT be contacting you. If your pick up/drop off time has changed, the bus drivers will contact you via the telephone by Wednesday, August 13th. If you are new to the district or new to a route, the bus driver will also contact you by Wednesday, August 13th.
§ Students should be out near the road or pick-up point when the bus arrives. The bus will not wait on students. Parents should plan on 5 minutes on each side of the designated time for pick-up of the student. The driver will stop and open the bus door, and if the student is not in sight, the driver will continue on his/her route. If the student(s) are consistently late getting to the bus, that could justify a bus conduct notice.
§ Students should stay well away from the bus stop area and should not move toward the bus until it stops and the door opens.
§ Students, who must cross the road, either to enter or leave the bus, should wait until the driver signals for them to cross the road. Also, those students crossing the road to load or unload the bus should always cross in front of the bus and should be at least ten feet ahead of the bus so the driver can see them.
§ If you need to make a change to your student’s transportation plan during the school day, you must call the office of your child’s attendance center by 2:30 PM. The building secretary will give your child the required note which will allow them to board the bus.
§ If you know in advance that your child needs to ride a different route home, please send a signed note to the office secretary. The secretary will initial the note, make a copy and give a copy back to your child. Your child should present this note to the bus driver. The note MUST be initialized by the office secretary to be considered valid.Every attempt will be made to accommodate a request for a change, however, requests are not guaranteed if the requested route is already full.
§ The driver is in charge of the students and the bus. The student should obey the driver’s request in a prompt and orderly fashion. NO INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR OR LANGUAGE WILL BE TOLERATED. Classroom conduct is to be observed by the students while on the bus. In the interest of safety, only low conversation is acceptable. Unnecessary conversation with the driver is not acceptable.
§ The driver will not discharge riders at other places besides the regular bus stop unless the driver has the proper authorization to do so. Proper authorization is a note from a parent or guardian, INITIALED by the principal or his or her designated representative. Also, a phone call can be made to the school authorizing the principal, or his/her designated representative, to write a note for the driver. These calls should be made before 2:30 p.m.
§ If a student is not riding the bus in the morning, you must notify the driver or the bus barn. The bus barn is open from 5:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The phone number is 597-5303. If a change in transportation is necessary for the PM route, please call the school building where your child attends. Again, this call must be made before 2:30 PM to ensure proper notification.
§ When bus rules are not observed, disciplinary consequences may include the following: a verbal warning from the driver, the student being assigned a seat, parental contact, a meeting with the principal. If problems continue, the principal will issue a written warning, which could be followed by removal of the student from the bus. At any point, consequences will be determined by the building principal for each offense. Severe offenses will result in severe consequences.
§ If a parent should have a bus question or concern, they should contact the bus driver about pick up and delivery times. Contact the building administrator regarding student discipline on the bus. Contact your child’s school office for changes of address.
§ Transportation information will be available at each enrollment site for students and parents. Our prime objective is to transport our students safely and efficiently. We would certainly appreciate your cooperation and support in this endeavor.
Josh Woodward, Transportation Director
