Parents of kids at Charter Match School in Boston were angry with school administrators after their children returned home hours later than normal and no one called to notify them.
A broken down school bus was to blame, but parents waiting hours after the usual drop-off time had no idea why their young kids, all in elementary school, were not yet home.
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With no information, many parents called police, concerned something terrible had happened. It was then that they were informed the school bus had overheated, causing it to break down, according to Boston Public Schools, which is responsible for transportation for the state-run school. The school bus was already running late when it left the school around 4:30 PM.
“We’ve got little kids out there crying,” one woman told local news station WCBV5. “They’re lost. They don’t know their bus stop numbers.”
Boston police, called to the scene, decided it was safest to keep the kids on the bus, versus figuring out alternate arrangements for getting them home. Parents were then asked to come to the site where the bus had broken down to pick up their children.
Parents were relieved that their kids were safe, but outraged that school administrators never called to explain the delay.
“I understand the anger and the frustration. Our children have been on this bus for three hours lost,” one parent, Tiffany Daughton, told WCBV5.
The policy for incidents like this is that the transportation company alerts the school and then the school alerts parents. Boston Public Schools says it is looking into why this didn’t happen.
“The safety of students is our top priority and we are glad all eight students on board are safe,” Boston Public Schools said in a statement, according to WCBV5. “We understand why these families are upset and apologize to them. We will review this incident to ensure proper protocols were followed.”
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