REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio — On Friday, the Reynoldsburg City School District wrapped up its first week of new bus routes for about two thousand students.
The changes were made to allow all students to learn in person after the winter break following a hybrid start to the school year due to a bus driver shortage. They include new bus routes, new drivers, and new start and end times for the school day for seven schools.
"We had some challenges this week with timing and some routes, and we're working through those," said Greg Pollock, Executive Director of Business for Reynoldsburg City Schools.
Pollock explained that the district saw improvements in delays between Tuesday and Friday, but said some things were out of the district's control, like an incident where a fire alarm was pulled at a middle school.
"All of the students were evacuated, fire trucks came, and all that good stuff, so we were delayed for 10-15 minutes. So, now it's 4:05 instead of leaving there at 3:55, and you know, 4 o'clock traffic on East Main Street and Broad Street don't get any better at that time of day," he said.
Some parents expressed frustrations on Facebook.
Cassandra Bush told 10TV she was worried about her fourth grader when she didn't get dropped off on time on Tuesday. "She didn't get home until around 6:15 that day, which is ridiculous. Before all of this, she was getting home around 3 or 3:10," she said. "There's no time for homework, there's no time for family time, there's no time for dinner. We have a schedule, and we're not able to do that schedule."
The district encourages parents to check their e-Link accounts for any changes.