It was a frantic and chaotic call to North Las Vegas Police two weeks ago.
"911...do you need Police Fire or Medical?
"Please!"
"What is address of your location?"
"My daughter's bus isn't home from school and the transportation department can't find it!"
Randi Nelson says her special needs daughter failed to come home on time from the bus on December 4. She placed a call with police close to 45 minutes after her daughter was supposed to be home.
Nelson: "She's four and she's in Special Ed."
911: "What kind of medical condition does she have?"
Nelson: "She has Autism!"
Randi says the panic set in when she learned her daughter boarded the bus from Eva Wolfe Elementary in North Las Vegas, but for some reason no one could tell her where the bus was.
"I was thinking the worst, that something bad had happened with the driver and the kids, it was a substitute driver and I don't know this driver," said Nelson.
"I tried to call the school, there was no answer because the office closes at 4 p.m.," said Nelson. "Then I tried to call the Transportation Department, at that point I was put on hold for about 20 minutes."
Randi's daughter came home at 5:05 p.m. Randi's husband Josh spoke to the bus driver about the tardy drop off.
"He goes, 'Well, when I left the bus yard this afternoon, I was told that I had to double my route and I had to follow it in an exact order," said Josh Aja.
Contact 13 has received multiple reports of late and overcrowded buses.
A picture provided by one parent allegedly shows a bus severely overcrowded from Sig Rogich Middle School on November 28.
A Clark County School District spokesperson released the following statement:
“The Clark County School District is committed to providing safe, timely, efficient and courteous bus transportation services to every eligible student.
“CCSD provides transportation to approximately 130,000 students daily on over 1,600 bus routes. When a concern is brought to the attention of the transportation department, staff members work quickly to address the matter and provide a reasonable resolution.
“All manners are being examined to find ways to better communicate with parents in the instance a route is delayed. Staff will continue to work by examining bus schedule routes and making possible changes if deemed necessary to provide improved arrival times.
“If parents may have specific concerns regarding their student’s transportation needs they are urged to contact CCSD’s Transportation Department and speak with a representative by calling (702) 799-8111.”
Contact 13 obtained an internal email from a district official explaining recent budget troubles have led to a bus driver shortage as well as a transportation call center staffing issue. Temporary staff has been brought in to help, but due to unplanned absences, there are days where there is a shortage.
Call times to the transportation office may be significantly longer, especially in the morning and afternoon times, due to staffing issues, according to the email.
