CHULA VISTA (KGTV) — Some families in the Sweetwater Union High School District say their children are unable to ride the school bus, despite qualifying for transportation.
The issue has left parents scrambling for alternative ways to get their students to school.
As of Thursday, the Sweetwater School District stated, "There are currently 25 students on the waiting list for one of the school's routes."
That route would be the one that a Chula Vista mother currently has her son on.
Megan Davis, whose son recently started seventh grade at Rancho Del Rey Middle School, said she applied for a bus pass this spring because her family lives more than 2.5 miles from campus — the district's eligibility threshold for transportation. Instead of receiving a bus assignment, she said her son was placed 14th on a waitlist.
"This doesn't affect just my child," Davis said. "It affects multiple kids, and ultimately we just need to make sure these kids are safe and can get to and from school in a safe way."
In an email to Davis, the district said staffing and capacity constraints have prevented it from adding another bus. The district's email also stated that the waitlists often change during the first few weeks of school and families will be contacted if seats become available.
Davis said the waitlist has created an unexpected and significant hardship for her family. Her husband is deployed on active duty with the U.S. Navy, and she works full-time as a nurse while raising two more kids.
"Being a military family, we don't have extended family or friends out here that can also help supplement getting him to and from school," Davis said.
So Davis immediately started searching for solutions.
Davis lives in the Escaya neighborhood, where there are no MTS bus stops, so that ruled out her son taking a different bus to school.
Davis said she looked into carpool options, only to learn that other families had similar scheduling constraints to hers. So she went to the district's transportation office to see if there were other resources.
According to Davis, the district suggested families consider alternatives such as walking or biking. She said those options are not realistic.
Walking from the Escaya neighborhood to Rancho Del Rey is about an hour-long walk, and Davis said she does not feel safe having her 12-year-old son walk or ride a bike because he would have to cross three major intersections on the nearly 3-mile trip to school, including Olympic Parkway and Heritage Road.
"I found that Olympic and Heritage is one of the top 15 most dangerous intersections in San Diego County," Davis said. "They're asking my freshly 12-year-old to cross this very busy intersection without any adult supervision."
The Sweetwater Union High School District states on its transportation website that it operates 102 school buses and provides more than 5,000 rides each day.
ABC 10News reached out to the district with follow-up questions and shared some of Davis' inquiries. In a statement, the district responded:
The Sweetwater District understands the important role transportation plays in helping students get to and from school safely each day. Rancho Del Rey Middle School currently has the district's highest level of transportation service, with 17 bus stops across 13 routes. While there are currently 25 students on the waiting list for one of the school's routes, the district regularly reviews ridership, verifies enrollment, and fills available seats as capacity allows.
Student transportation is not funded by either the State of California or the federal government, and school districts across the country continue to experience a shortage of qualified school bus drivers. Despite these challenges, Sweetwater has maintained all existing transportation routes and continues to evaluate transportation needs and available resources to serve as many eligible students as possible. The district also consulted with its Military Family Liaison and confirmed there are currently no transportation assistance programs specifically available for military families related to this issue.
For now, Davis said she has adjusted her work schedule to get her son to and from school while waiting for a bus seat to open, which she's been told could mean waiting until next year.
"I've been working a lot of night shifts and split shifts, leaving work to pick him up and then going back to work afterwards," Davis said. "That's how we've been managing."
