The Northside ISD responds to claims that Harlan High School students have sat on the bus floor because the Redbird Ranch bus route is overcrowded.
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Parents on San Antonio’s Far Westside are raising safety concerns after claims that students were sitting on the floor of a moving school bus. One parent, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid retaliation against their child, tells MySA they weren’t surprised by the allegations because overcrowding has been ongoing in the area.
Under the Texas Transportation Code, an operator of a school bus must “prohibit a passenger from standing in the bus, sitting on the floor of the bus, or in any location on the bus that is not designed as a seat.”
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A post in the Facebook group Redbird Ranch – THE COMMUNITY renewed the discussion on Wednesday, September 30. The post drew many comments expressing frustration.
The post read: “Thought y’all parents might want to know, they have our school bus riders sitting on the floor. There was a bus crash yesterday, and accidents will continue to happen.”
The individual included two photos that appeared to have been taken inside the bus. Several people appear to be in the middle aisle. MySA reached out to the individual who posted the photos but did not receive a response in time for publication. The post also said the individual contacted the transportation department and Harlan High School, which is part of the Northside Independent School District.
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The parent who spoke with MySA has six children in Northside ISD, including a daughter who rides the bus route from Harlan to Redbird Ranch.
“Three to a seat, it’s still not enough, and the bus driver won’t move the bus, obviously, if the kids are standing, so they sit down on the floor again,” the parent said. “It’s obviously not safe.”
The parent said the bus driver told their daughter that students are not allowed to sit on the floor. The driver also said students could no longer take pictures on the bus, according to the parent.
“Pretty much saying, ‘Stop snitching. You can’t take pictures. You can’t take videos. You can’t sit on the floor,’” the parent said. “And they’re like, ‘Okay, but where do I sit? There’s nowhere to sit if I don’t sit on the floor.’”
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MySA obtained a screenshot of a complaint the parent submitted to the Department of Public Safety on Wednesday regarding the claim. The parent also shared a screenshot of part of an email sent to Harlan High School principal Travis Weissler. Weissler responded early Thursday, October 1, saying they had contacted the station manager to address the situation “to ensure the safety of all students,” according to the screenshot.
Barry Perez, Northside ISD’s assistant superintendent of communications, told MySA on Thursday that transportation leadership is aware of the concern and “has fully addressed” it. He said staff investigated the seating concerns using bus surveillance video from September 28 through October 1.
Perez said the maximum capacity for high school students on a bus is 58. The Harlan High bus route serving the Red Bird Ranch area typically averages between 45 and 50, with a high of 56, he said.
“The maximum capacity does mean that some seats will have three students,” Perez said. “Video footage from the bus confirmed that additional seating was still available toward the back of the bus on the day a student sat on the floor.”
Perez later clarified that his reference to “a student” reflected his interpretation of the transportation department’s statement to him.
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“I’m not saying that transportation said that there weren’t other students,” Perez said. “My interpretation was there was a student sitting down, and if I’m wrong on that, then that’s on me and not transportation.”
Perez said transportation leaders reissued guidance to the driver on managing bus capacity. The district also plans to implement a seating chart to ensure every student has a seat.
The parent tells MySA that their daughter confirmed a seating chart has already been announced.
Perez said that “in this specific case, the directive to not take photos or video was the result of another parent reaching out, concerned and upset that students were posting pictures and videos online that included their child – without consent.”
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Transportation management then directed the driver to “remind students not to take photos and video,” Perez said. He could not confirm whether the report about nonconsensual photos and videos was received this week or earlier, but he said he could confirm it concerned the Harlan High School to Redbird Ranch route.
Perez says he understands the concerns about having three students per seat, but noted that the bus is designed with three seatbelts in each row. In Northside ISD’s setting of the limit for high school routes at 58, it assumes “there are going to be some seats where three to three to a seat is going to be needed,” Perez said.
When asked whether the seating arrangement would remain in place through the end of the school year, Perez said he did not want to speak prematurely, but added that his “guess is yes.”
This isn’t the first time concerns about bus overcrowding have been raised with Northside ISD. Similar claims were raised in 2018 and 2019.
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Perez said the hard part is recruiting drivers and retaining them in those positions.
“That is certainly a challenge for us, and no doubt for other districts as well,” he said.
MySA reached out to Northside ISD Transportation but did not hear back in time for publication.