Kids ride on floor in overcrowded buses, parents say


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ALPINE— Parents of students attending an Alpine School District middle school are complaining that their children are being crammed into buses, and they said they have pictures to prove it.

Some students from a Saratoga Springs neighborhood have had to sit on the floor to get to school, parents said. The students live in Harvest Hills and all of them are bused to Vista Heights Middle School.

The neighborhood has six buses, but parents said that is not enough and they are worried about safety with more kids on the bus than there are seats.

"They know how many kids live here, they have a count of the number of kids who go to the school and all those kids need a seat," said parent Sherian Bushman.

One of the children who sat on the floor is Bushman's 13-year-old daughter.

"My daughter sat on the floor and rode between the driver and the door," Bushman said.

Parents said students who aren't sitting on the floor are still sitting three to a seat.

"My son is 5-foot-11 and my daughter is 5-foot-6, so to put three kids to a seat is way overcrowded for them," said parent Kathy Hale.

As the first day of school rolled around, the school experienced a 75 percent growth instead of 50 percent, said Alpine School District Spokesperson Kimberly Bird.

The district said it is trying to deal with a surge in enrollment from the neighborhood — and that students switching buses is complicating efforts to evaluate where to make adjustments to the routes.

"What is happening is that kids are moving from stop to stop to pick and choose which bus they get on, and that is causing additional overcrowding of buses," Bird said.

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Still parents said they believe it's clear another bus is needed right now. They are especially worried since the route takes the busy Redwood Road, and even a minor accident could seriously injure a student.

"I don't think (students) are safe; I don't think they are being transported safely and I don't think they should drive the bus if there are kids on the floor," Bushman said.

District officials said bus drivers are required to make sure every student has a seat before they start moving, but parents said they have photos to prove that is not happening.

The District is well aware of the problem, according to spokesperson John Patten. An additional bus was added on Tuesday, and transportation is creating more stops so fewer students will load at each stop, he said.

Affected parents will be noted by email, and students are asked to use their assigned bus stop to ensure proper loads, Patten said.

The total number of middle school students per bus optimally falls in the range of 65 to 75 students, and if all students ride from their designated stop the loads would fall in this range, Patten said.

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Sam Penrod and Randall Jeppesen

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