Howard County's new superintendent hopes to avoid repeat of school bus crisis

ELLICOTT CITY -- Howard County's new school superintendent has spent the summer ironing out the school district's transportation plan to avoid a similar bus crisis that kicked off last school year.

The 2023-2024 school year was the first for California-based contractor Zum. On the first day of school, some students waited hours for buses, if they were even picked up at all. Some students even got on the wrong bus.

Problems persisted for weeks, and it's caused families to be concerned nearly a year later.

WJZ has been reporting on the issue since the beginning. In a sit-down with Howard County Public School System superintendent Bill Barnes, he said transportation is one of his priorities in his first 90-Day Plan.

Over the summer, Barnes said he's been meeting with the school district's transportation team and contractors to ensure everything will run on time.

"We desperately want to avoid transportation failures from last year. We've learned lots of lessons, we've taken very proactive steps to address those issues that were in place both from a school system side and with our contractors," he said.

Some actions have been taken. 11 elementary and middle schools have had their start times adjusted. 

In a letter to families, Barnes said contractors have had "adequate" time to review routes. Also, alternative vehicles, like minivans, have been made available if the need arises. 

"I want parents to know that we're meeting daily to pay attention to those indicators for readiness," Barnes said. "We're meeting with our contractors daily to make sure they're ready and to respond to their needs. As we move closer to the start of school, we're gonna be putting our information to them."

In a statement to WJZ, a Zum spokesperson echoes Barnes, saying they've been working closely with the school district. The statement also said Zum has enough drivers in Howard County, though, a specific number wasn't provided.

Some families are comforted to see what Barnes and the school district have done to prepare.

"We were fortunate that she [only] missed the bus a couple times, but then we'd make arrangements," Vanessa Castleberry of Ellicott City recalled.

After hearing what the superintendent has been up to, Castleberry said, "That makes me feel confident that they're gonna solve the problem."

Bus stop locations and pickup/dropoff times will be made available online on the HCPSS' website starting Aug. 21.