EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — El Paso Independent School District said an unexpected delay affected a Murphree PK-8 School bus route Thursday, citing a substitute driver and a technology outage that disrupted navigation and communication systems.
District officials said students were never in danger and that their safety was not compromised during the delay.
According to EPISD, the substitute driver assigned to the route was fully licensed and met all state and district requirements.
Transportation officials met with affected parents Friday morning to answer questions and apologize for the inconvenience, the district said.
Destiny Venecia reports on El Paso ISD cites substitute driver and tech outage in Murphree PK-8 bus delay (Credit: KFOX14)
A mother claims she waited nearly two hours to find her three children after they boarded the school bus home.
“The bus was there in the middle of a hill, kids crying out, waving, flagging their hands out the window, saying that they’re thirsty, that they want to go home,” said the mother, who did not want to be identified.
Another mother said her children’s bus did not make it home on time after picking them up from Murphree PK-8 in the El Paso school district on Thursday.
“I have three kids on the bus. I had a six, seven, and a five-year-old, and it felt very scary not knowing where they were at, not hearing from them, said the woman. “I contacted the school. I contacted the transportation line that they give you. I have called families, you know, trying to see, like, what’s going on. And from there, we just took it into our own hands.”
This school year, the El Paso School District launched the StopFinder app, which allows parents and guardians to securely track their child’s school bus in real time.
KFOX14/CBS4 asked El Paso ISD if parents at the school experienced any issues with the app.
El Paso ISD officials said they are looking into it and said they aren’t sure if some parents had the app downloaded or if it had malfunctioned.
EPISD said it is reviewing the incident to identify ways to improve communication and prevent similar disruptions in the future.
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