District 99 Officials will be at Most Problematic Bus Stops Tuesday

There will be some new kids at the bus stop Tuesday, but they won't look like your average high-schooler.

officials reported Monday afternoon they would be at the most problematic bus stops Tuesday to monitor the performance of Westway Coach, Inc.

Parents in both District 99 and reported missed pick-ups and late buses Monday as issues that have plagued the bus routes both districts continued into the second week of school.

The issues started on the first day of school, last Wednesday.

District 68 and 99 said they had met with Westway officials Friday to express concerns and to fix the problems. However, problems remained.

"At Jefferson Jr. High, the problems have not gotten corrected, in our opinion," said Patrick Broncato, assistant superintendent of personnel for District 68. "At some of the elementary schools, things have gotten a little bit better. Some still continue to have missing routes and missing stops and we're not satisfied."

Westway officials had assured District 99 issues would be resolved over the weekend.

"Today the issues persisted. We again contacted the bus company to express our frustration and to try to understand the difficulties," according to a District 99 release. "Tomorrow morning, District 99 administrators and staff will be stationed at the most problematic bus routes, and will monitor first-hand the performance of each route."

District 99 wrote it was important for students to stick to their original bus route, as the routes have not been changed.

Parents started reporting continued poor bus service earlier Monday.

The following are from Woodridge Patch's Facebook page:

Diane McKillip Horrible. 6 children at our bus stop for Goodrich had to be driven to school by the parents. Expected pick up was 7:52...I passed the bus on 53 at 8:20 as I was taking my son to kindergarten. One young man headed for Jefferson was left stranded. We are fed up! Heads have to roll...unacceptable.

Tina Fanning Kadisak The bus didn't get here until 8:10, supposed to be here at 7:50. Im not really understanding this. I can see it being difficult at first, but after you've driven the route? What are they doing rotating drivers?

Barb Tuley Sprague Worse yet today- the Jefferson bus hadn't come by at 7:55 am (should be here by 7:40-and we're one of the first stops on the route). The Goodrich bus drove right by 2 stops of kids waiting, but didn't pick them up. The 6th grade band kids were still waiting after 8am at Jefferson for buses to take them to their elementary schools.

Susan Janettas Visconti We had our first bus problem this morning. In Woodridge for DGN at Janes and Vista, my daughter's bus didn't show up. I called the school at 7:35AM and they said "The bus is on it's way back." I asked if it was ever there in the first place because my daughter was 10 minutes early for it this morning and she said she didn't know.

Westway told District 68 its routing was not done in the most efficient way and was taking a look at re-examining routes this weekend, Broncato said. Westway would recommend changes if they felt they needed to.

Any changes in the route would take place on Wednesday at the earliest, Broncato said.

It's the first school year the two districts have worked with Westway Coach, Inc. Districts 68 and 99, along with Downers Grove Grade School District 58, signed with Westway earlier this year after the three districts decided to consolidate their routes. Consolidating was a cost-saving measure for all three districts.

Kevin Wegner, assistant superintendent of business for District 68, said the measure would save District 68 $300,000 a year.

Calls to Westway Coach, Inc., were not returned by the time of this posting.

A representative from Westway Coach, Inc., will be present at the District 68 Board of Education meeting Monday night to discuss how service has gone so far this school year.

Anyone wanting to attend the meeting is welcome. It will take place at at 7:30 p.m. in the Learning Resource Center.

Those experiencing missed pick-ups or late buses should continue to report problems to their school principal or the District 68 Administrative office so the district can keep track.