Durham School District Outlines Transportation Tweaks

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The transportation woes plaguing Durham Public Schools since the start of the traditional calendar school year in August are getting attention from school district administrators.

On Friday, the district sent a message to families apologizing and notifying about next steps.

“We apologize for the hardships many of you have experienced and will share with you why your child’s transportation service has been delayed,” said Todd LoFrese, interim chief operating officer for DPS, in the recorded phone call. “On the first day of traditional school, we were staffed to cover all riders in our system. Since that time, we have received a large volume of additional requests and new bus driver vacancies have reduced our capacity. Transportation staff who normally answer phone calls and provide technical support are now deployed to cover bus routes. This has caused a backlog in the system, requiring us to create double and triple bus routes in order to provide service.”

Corrective actions are planned, including:

• Weekend Work: The transportation team will work through weekends for the next two weeks to process outstanding requests.
• Temporary Employees: Hiring additional staff to assist with answering phone calls during weekdays.
• App Issue Resolution: The district has corrected an error that prevented some buses from being linked to the Edulog Parent Portal App, improving communication for parents.
• Earlier Bus Unloading: Collaborating with elementary schools to allow buses to unload students earlier, improving timeliness for middle and high school routes.
• Expedited Driver Training: Received special permission from the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles to reduce the driver training period from six months to two months. Thirty new drivers are currently in training and should be ready to start this fall.

The district’s also looking for qualified drivers to help cover those bus routes. For information, check the DPS employment site.