51黑料

ST. LOUIS 鈥� Many parents are not confident in the 51黑料 Public Schools鈥� emergency transportation plan, which includes schoolchildren riding in taxis, rideshares and Metro buses.

Hundreds of family members packed the bleachers at Vashon High School on Tuesday to hear from SLPS transportation staff about the patchwork plan to compensate for a lack of school buses.

Of the 15,439 students eligible for transportation, 5,349 students will be assigned to traditional yellow buses 鈥� primarily students with special needs and those in elementary school. Nearly 1,700 high school students will receive MetroBus passes. Another 3,773 have been assigned to various smaller companies including Smart Taxicab, STL Transportation, Metropolitan Cab, Shuttles Pro and Hop Skip Drive, a rideshare program for children. The remainder have opted out of transportation services.

Tisha Welch said she feels nervous and scared about the safety of her three children, who were assigned to different vendors. Welch works regular hours in IT and can鈥檛 manage drop off and pick up for three different bell schedules 鈥� one elementary, one middle and one high school.

鈥淭hey are my entire world. I don鈥檛 want to have to pray everything goes OK,鈥� Welch said. 鈥淭he choice is to put my kids on a random taxi or lose my job. It makes you feel defeated just because you live in a certain area.鈥�

Other parents said the taxicabs could prove more reliable than school buses that were frequently delayed or canceled. Missouri Central bus company announced in March it would drop its contract with SLPS after only covering 80% to 85% of the district鈥檚 routes each day.

Dawn Spriesterbach said her daughter鈥檚 school bus never showed up on 21 days last year. This year, her daughter was assigned to Metropolitan Cab for the ride to Metro High School and her son will take Smart Taxicab to Busch Middle School.

鈥淢y kids have never been in a taxi in their life. I鈥檓 kind of leery about this,鈥� Spriesterbach said, adding that the communication from SLPS seems improved over last year. 鈥淭he whole last year, nobody would help me. At least I have somebody to call and talk to this year.鈥�

The district plans to 鈥渙vercommunicate about transportation鈥� during the first three weeks of school through a call center with additional support staff, according to a letter sent Tuesday to parents.

鈥淲e still have a lot of families that trust their students to be educated in this district, and we鈥檙e family,鈥� said Gloria Nolan, parent liaison for SLPS. 鈥淗ow can we work together to get our kids to school?鈥�

Two of the most pressing concerns for parents and caregivers are car seats and safety protocols such as driver background checks and vehicle inspections. Missouri doesn鈥檛 have any additional insurance or licensing requirements for drivers or vehicles carrying 10 or fewer students to school.

Parents were asked by SLPS to provide their own booster seats for children who weigh between 40 and 80 pounds and are assigned to taxis, vans or rideshares. Students will then have to carry the booster seat with them to class, at least one taxi representative told parents.

A spokesman for SLPS said that the vendors鈥� contracts require background checks on drivers, but the district has not released any of the contracts.

The transportation emergency is one of several concerns about the district鈥檚 readiness for the first day of school on Aug. 19:

• Leadership turmoil. Superintendent Keisha Scarlett was placed on paid leave July 25 pending an investigation of hiring and spending practices during her one-year tenure. The results are expected to be released in early September. Her deputy, Millicent Borishade, is serving as acting superintendent.
• Certified teachers. Nearly one-third of the classes in SLPS were led by a teacher with inappropriate certification last year, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. That percentage, which includes long-term substitutes, is expected to be higher this year based on teacher vacancy reports from the district.
• Before/after care. The district told families that every elementary school will have child care available before and after school. But some of the programs are free and others have a cost. Patrick Henry Elementary in downtown 51黑料 will not offer before care, teachers said. Mann Elementary in Tower Grove South with 220 students has 10 spots for before care and 45 for after care.
• Building projects. Some teachers have been delayed in setting up their classrooms because of renovation projects in the schools. The projects are expected to be completed by the first day of school.

鈥淚鈥檓 a product of SLPS and I love SLPS,鈥� said Rosie, the grandmother of a fifth grader who declined to give her last name. 鈥滻 just want it to work well like other districts. We love our children too.鈥�