NORTH RIDGEVILLE, Ohio — It was a bumpy start for buses in North Ridgeville City Schools. On the first day of school, some families reported technology glitches, delays and frustration.
The district said software challenges and understaffing were partially to blame for Thursday’s chaos.
Saissy Kendig’s 2nd- and 7th-grade children would typically take the bus, but she said she decided to drive them herself on Thursday.
"If you ask my husband, he would've said to put them on the bus, but the first day, for me, I don't mind. But I'm glad I did because we didn't have too much information the night before," she said.
The working mom of three said the district's transportation app used to communicate bus times and routes was missing information or showing incorrect details Wednesday night.
Another mom told News 5 her long-time bus rider was suddenly not registered in the system.
The district said both the app and its bus routing system were malfunctioning.
"I ended up driving my kids and I still saw kids waiting to be picked up by the bus. So I'm really glad I ended up taking them in," Kendig said.
Other parents reported similar delays to and from school.
One mom told News 5 no bus showed up to pick her child up in the morning until she called for one to retrieve him and others at a nearby bus stop. In the afternoon, the same parent said she only learned about a nearly hour-long delay when her 6-year-old told her via his smartwatch.
“They need to start working on better communication, better organization,” said North Ridgeville grandmother Melissa Fields.
She said she waited an hour in the pickup line Thursday, in part because, she believes, parents rushed to pick up their children after busing delays.
“Let’s focus on getting these kids home,” she said. “I did get into it with them [about it] a little bit yesterday.”
Some students at the nearby St. Peter’s Catholic School also use North Ridgeville City Schools transportation.
Parents there said a driver returned a full bus to the school because they did not have the correct student addresses, and another bus did not return to take those students home until 5:30 p.m.
North Ridgeville City Schools provided the following statement:
“North Ridgeville City Schools sincerely apologizes for the transportation issues, delays, and frustration many of our families have experienced over the past two days. Our families depend on us to provide safe, reliable transportation for their children, and we did not meet the standard they expect from us — or the standard we expect from ourselves.
Our team has been working continuously to identify and correct issues involving both our routing system and the My Ride K-12 app. This includes working directly with Tyler Technologies to address the problems we have experienced and identify solutions.
At the same time, our staff is not relying solely on the software to resolve these concerns. Team members have been contacting families directly, manually assigning students to buses and routes when necessary, and sharing updated transportation information with our school buildings to help ensure students are placed on the correct buses for dismissal.
Our highest priority remains the safety of our students and ensuring every child has a reliable way to and from school. Staff members are carefully reviewing reports, verifying routes, responding to individual concerns, and making adjustments as we work to provide a better and more consistent transportation experience for our students and families.
We recognize the inconvenience and uncertainty these issues have caused, particularly at the start of a new school year, and we are truly sorry. We also appreciate the understanding our families have shown our transportation team, drivers, school staff, and others who are working diligently to resolve these issues.”
Kendig, a working mother with children in three different schools, said she hopes the situation improves quickly.
"I could really use some busing, that's for sure, that's on time, picks them up… because if one kid is late, it's just a snowball effect after that," she said.
Catherine Ross is the Lorain County reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on X @CatherineRossTV, on Facebook CatherineRossTV or email her at Catherine.Ross@wews.com.
