There are major headaches for many Omaha Public School parents who rely on buses to take their kids to and from school.
Wednesday and Thursday, buses arrived extremely late or left kids stranded.
All calls to OPS were referred to media relations, who did not give an interview but emailed a press release acknowledging “transportation issues,” they’re working on with their contractor, Student Transportation of America.
Lacy Olson is a single parent of two.
She says there have been issues with the school picking up her son for years.
This year is the worst, Olson said.
"Going to school late your first day because the bus didn't show up at all, it's not acceptable,” Olson said.
Wednesday was back to school for about 52,000 students in Nebraska’s largest school district.
That’s not including 10th through 12th graders who went back Thursday.
"It's just frustrating,” Olson said. “I had to talk with my supervisor and let him know I might be late the second day. We have multiple people from my floor that had to leave to go pick their kids up because the buses didn't show up to the schools to pick them up.”
While OPS is not releasing what and why buses are having timing issues, the district is encouraging parents to arrange their own rides if they can.
OPS sent letters and voicemails that detail a phone number to call for concerned parents.
Olson said she called that number several times and was referred to emailing the district’s transportation director, who has not gotten back to her.
"They need a whole new person doing the job because this is an every-year thing and it's not fair to the kids,” Olson said. “These are little kids. They're not adults. They can't fend for themselves. I have a 3-year-old who's going to start riding the bus on Monday. I'm extremely worried"
