and officials said this week they continue to work with Westway Coach, Inc. to correct issues and are considering how best to pursue financial sanctions they're entitled to in their contracts.
Some missed pick-ups and late buses continued Tuesday, according to Patrick Broncato, assistant superintendent of personnel for District 68. However, there are fewer in the third week of school than there were in the first two, he said.
Broncato said District 68 continued to work with Westway in refining routes and making adjustments where needed.
District 99 made a similar report. "Fortunately, the timeliness and accuracy of the routes at both schools have continued to improve," District 99 Communications Director Jill Browning wrote in an e-mail.
While administrators from both districts rode buses and followed routes during the first two weeks of school, that practice seems to have lessened.
An administrator rode one problematic bus route Wednesday morning, Browning said. District officials would continue to ride bus routes as needed, she said.
In terms of financial compensation, Broncato said the district can recoup money for late buses, incorrect routes and missed routes per its contract with Westway. District 99 can do the same.
The district can receive 10 percent back for a late bus, 25 pecent back for an incorrect route (like a missed pick-up) and 100 percent back for a route where no bus showed up.
Broncato said officials were reviewing their records to tally up each of the offenses. He didn't know when the district would make its claim against Westway.
Browning said District 99 administrators are reviewing the best action to take in regards to financial sanctions for poor bus service.
It's the third week of the bus service saga in which hundreds of students in both districts have been affected. Buses have skipped stops, skipped entire routes, dropped off students to school late and dropped them back home hours after school ended.
Westway blamed incorrect routes that were generated after the company incorrectly processed information it received from the districts. That resulted in drivers and parents having different schedules.
Corrected routes were given to drivers last week.
Carpooling is a great idea. The bigger the car, the more kids we can get in it, reducing the number of cars on the road, and the pollution. In fact, lets get a really big car that can hold about 30 kids! Oh wait... that's called a bus...
If you live 3 miles away from your kids' school in Darien (most families don't), why not drive them yourself or consider a neighborhood carpool? This solution is far more efficient and flexible than having the entire District operate a fantastically-expensive and polluting bus service so that all kids can get transported whether they need to or not. Also, look around - most cars on the road have only one driver. I bet that you and your trusted neighbors could easily carpool your kids back and forth without saddling all of us with huge and unwanted bus service expenses. The huge costs and horrendous air pollution attendant with having suburban school districts running or paying for bus service is 90% unnecessary and it diverts precious dollars away from better uses. You might live 3 miles from your kids' school, but the vast majority of Darien families don't.
Regarding the kids who do live in Downers Grove? If they live within 1 1/2 miles of DG South they do not have bus service.
The vast majority of all suburban families live very close to public schools, so most bus services are not really needed. Schools could easily start and end at staggered times to alleviate any possible congestion, which would actually better suit most families. Staggered departures already occur at all schools given how many students are now in after-school activities, so the congestion issue is bogus. School bus service is a perfect example of nanny-state expansion that's not really needed or wanted on any rational basis. It'd be a lot healthier for the kiddies to walk to and from school. And wil vast majority of suburban families owning 2 or more cars, it's easy for parents to drop off kids or for them to arrange carpools with trusting neighbors or nearby family members. The astromical expense of school bus services has done nothing but sap precious dollars that could have been better spent on direct education efforts and overall test score improvement. It's hard enough to run a top-notch school, running a transportation enterprise is nothing but a huge money hole and administrative distraction as well.
This story was posted on both Woodridge Patch and Darien Patch because the bus issues in District 99 are impacting families that live in both communities. Thanks, Lauren
On paying property taxes, you are not alone; all property owners pay them, but that doesn't mean that the money is well spent or that we're not paying too much.
"The district can receive 10 percent back for a late bus, 25 pecent back for an incorrect route (like a missed pick-up) and 100 percent back for a route where no bus showed up."