Howard County school leaders say bus service issues mostly resolved

BALTIMORE -- Howard County Schools reports improvement in its bus service issues.

The Howard County superintendent, the Board of Education and the Howard County Council gathered for their regular joint meeting Wednesday.

It was the first time they'd met since the beginning of the school year.

The meeting lasted two hours, and many topics were discussed, including the bus service issues county schools have been experiencing.

"I am pleased to announce that we have addressed the significant delays," Howard County Schools Superintendent Dr. Michael Martirano said.

Due to time constraints, the bus service issues were only discussed for about five minutes.

At that time, the issues had been resolved, Martirano said.

"Our buses are on time," he said. "We continue to work through all the individual concerns that happen in transportation."

According to Martirano, the district's bus system improved by about 95% after the district adjusted school start times three weeks ago.

However, parents WJZ spoke with believe the school district has not been very transparent. They also continue to blame the district's new bus contractor for the problems.

"More transparency of how financial decisions were made," Corinne Happel of Neighbor for Buses said. "More transparency about specifically how much is being paid and for what service."

Martirano told WJZ that his staff is working to address concerns but has already solved most of the issues the district was facing at the start of the school year.

"That doesn't mean we're perfect," Martirano said. "And so, as individual concerns come in, we're addressing those in a very quick fashion."