Why does a parent need to keep tabs on the route of the school bus their kids are on? How often does someone need to track down a school bus that their kid is on? How often does a school bus have an issue that would require a parent to locate the school bus? Why do parents need to know where their children are at every second of the day? I thinks it is a solution in search of a problem? Just more nanny parents wanting technological over reach. Life 360 is stupid too.
****CITY UNDER SIEGE - 2025****
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Last: 18 hrs ago by Sea Speed
Bondag said:
Superintendent sent out a lengthy email condemning the news reports on this incident and explaining what really happened.
Quote:
You may have seen a news story circulating Tuesday that painted one of our bus drivers in a negative light. It is unfortunate that all the positivity throughout our first full week back to school was put aside for an attention-grabbing headline, but I wanted to set the record straight and defend our bus driver and transportation team.
On Monday morning, one of our new drivers hit a curb on a tight turn to avoid a vehicle in the opposite lane. A community member reported this to Harris County Precinct 5 Constables. Our team reviewed the video of the route multiple times and can definitively say the driver was not driving erratically, as it was reported.
Following the call, a deputy arrived in the area, pulled over the bus and asked our driver to conduct a field sobriety test, to which she complied and passed. She was asked to take another field sobriety test 45 minutes after the initial test, and she passed again. Per district procedures, the driver was sent to a clinic for drug and alcohol testingand both tests came back negative.
Despite waiting on the bus for an extended period of time, the students were incredibly well-behaved. I attribute that to the quality of our drivers and the high expectations they set for our riders since the first day of school.
The media story created unnecessary embarrassment for this driver, and was released prior to the completion of our full investigation. It painted a negative light on the true professionalism of our CFISD bus drivers and transportation staff.
We are contacting the station management to request that a retraction be announced on air and an apology be provided to the driver whose reputation was slandered by the click-bait report that went out before all the facts were gathered. I do not hold out a lot of hope that this will be done, which is why I felt compelled to send this out in defense of a fellow staff member.
As a school superintendent, I can withstand slander as a public figure. But I cannot in good conscience sit by and watch a staff member be attacked or presented in a poor light when their actions were not poor or negatively impactful to kids. In fact, I want to thank this driver for serving CFISD students.
We know that parents choose CFISD not only for outstanding schools, but for the competence and character of our hard-working employeesincluding our amazing bus drivers! I continue to be proud of the incredible things happening around our district in 2025-26, and encourage our local media to look for these positive stories, as well.
And right after covid, when cfisd was struggling with having enough bus drivers, the tracking app was really helpful. I would be at home, see that my son was not on the bus because the bus wasn't at the school and I could run up and pick him up instead of him waiting around for a bus. Most of those times I would end up driving a few of the kids we knew and also lived in our neighborhood home so they weren't stranded.
Lately, I like it because I turn down the a/c and turn off the alarm when I am notified my son is on the bus.
Quote:
Why does a parent need to keep tabs on the route of the school bus their kids are on? How often does someone need to track down a school bus that their kid is on?
In case their bus driver is impaired and/or reckless and/or gets pulled over by cops for same? Probably would never happen though.
I would think the number of bus hours vs number of incidents is pretty lopsided towards nothing ever happens. I think parents drive to have to know where your kid is every second of every day is just fear and paranoia. Hello the best times of my life growing up were when my parents didn't have any idea where I was, and tbh that's kind of the life of like my kids to grow up having. Nannyism under the house of safety is absurd, imo.
So the bus ran over a curb and someone whipped out their phone and called 911?
Stat Monitor Repairman said:
So the bus ran over a curb and someone whipped out their phone and called 911?
At least we know where our kids are though in case any of those curbs come out to snatch em up!
these districts and bus routes are so huge now that the pickup times tend to vary quite a bit. I think KISD and the others started doing the tracking so parents would know when to meet the kiddos at the stops.
That actually makes sense as a reason if you need immediate access to your kid when they get off the bus, but have we moved away from bus stops for each street where it's a two minute walk to a kids house from each stop? I didn't exactly go to a small high school and we were still only getting dropped off steps from our homes. Except apartment dwellers I reckon, they just get dropped at the front and have to survive the gauntlet.
And in the case of this driver, the bus was on the way to school in the morning according to the news report, and parents were still monitoring the situation. Just seems very odd. I didn't think a functioning adult had time for that but I guess I'm wrong.
I'll just say I don't think we'd track our kids bus. Can't say for sure as our oldest is 4. But, no, I don't think it's necessary.
That said, not going to say it's absurd to think it's an option or that some parents would want to.
That said, not going to say it's absurd to think it's an option or that some parents would want to.
Sea Speed said:
Why does a parent need to keep tabs on the route of the school bus their kids are on? How often does someone need to track down a school bus that their kid is on? How often does a school bus have an issue that would require a parent to locate the school bus? Why do parents need to know where their children are at every second of the day? I thinks it is a solution in search of a problem? Just more nanny parents wanting technological over reach. Life 360 is stupid too.
I used to think LIfe 360 was stupid until I had teenage kids that were driving.
Sea Speed said:
Why does a parent need to keep tabs on the route of the school bus their kids are on? How often does someone need to track down a school bus that their kid is on? How often does a school bus have an issue that would require a parent to locate the school bus? Why do parents need to know where their children are at every second of the day? I thinks it is a solution in search of a problem? Just more nanny parents wanting technological over reach. Life 360 is stupid too.
Can't speak for every place, but many of the bus stops in our area are still a pretty good distance from the kids' homes, so parents often pick them up and drop them off at the bus stop. Nice to be able to take all of 30 seconds to see if the bus is going to be on time, late, early, etc. Same if there is weather issues.
Hell, we had a bus accident in our district on the first day of school. Bus was rear ended by another car, school had to get another bus to take the kids home and it was a pretty significant delay. Parents being notified removes a whole lot of headache.
We know you are all hard and what not, but when your kid gets older and starts driving, you'll find things like Life 360 or the ability to track your kid's phone on yours to be a pretty handy tool that eliminates a lot of worrying, questions, arguments when they get home, etc. But not for you, you are going to just wing it I'm sure.
Sea Speed said:
That actually makes sense as a reason if you need immediate access to your kid when they get off the bus, but have we moved away from bus stops for each street where it's a two minute walk to a kids house from each stop? I didn't exactly go to a small high school and we were still only getting dropped off steps from our homes. Except apartment dwellers I reckon, they just get dropped at the front and have to survive the gauntlet.
In a whole lot of places, yes. Especially in districts with a lot of rural addresses.
Kids and parents today are so soft.
My parents made me walk 8 miles to school by myself.
My parents made me walk 8 miles to school by myself.
Ryan the Temp said:
Kids and parents today are so soft.
My parents made me walk 8 miles to school by myself.
Uphill, both ways, right? Barefoot in the snow too.
TarponChaser said:Ryan the Temp said:
Kids and parents today are so soft.
My parents made me walk 8 miles to school by myself.
Uphill, both ways, right? Barefoot in the snow too.
Nah ... just through dairy farms. Nothing like the smell of cow **** in the morning.
schmellba99 said:Sea Speed said:
Why does a parent need to keep tabs on the route of the school bus their kids are on? How often does someone need to track down a school bus that their kid is on? How often does a school bus have an issue that would require a parent to locate the school bus? Why do parents need to know where their children are at every second of the day? I thinks it is a solution in search of a problem? Just more nanny parents wanting technological over reach. Life 360 is stupid too.
Can't speak for every place, but many of the bus stops in our area are still a pretty good distance from the kids' homes, so parents often pick them up and drop them off at the bus stop. Nice to be able to take all of 30 seconds to see if the bus is going to be on time, late, early, etc. Same if there is weather issues.
Hell, we had a bus accident in our district on the first day of school. Bus was rear ended by another car, school had to get another bus to take the kids home and it was a pretty significant delay. Parents being notified removes a whole lot of headache.
We know you are all hard and what not, but when your kid gets older and starts driving, you'll find things like Life 360 or the ability to track your kid's phone on yours to be a pretty handy tool that eliminates a lot of worrying, questions, arguments when they get home, etc. But not for you, you are going to just wing it I'm sure.
I don't know if any of the HISD service areas do regular neighborhood bus stops anymore, or if they're all for intra-district transfers. I see parents lined up for blocks or kids walking from the school. If you look at campus demographics pages, you can see some of those kids are traveling long distances across the city.
The elementary schools in my area have hordes of parents waiting outside for their kids to be released at dismissal. So many people wfh or on irregular schedules now that it's not surprising.
The elementary schools in my area have hordes of parents waiting outside for their kids to be released at dismissal. So many people wfh or on irregular schedules now that it's not surprising.
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Sea Speed said:
Why does a parent need to keep tabs on the route of the school bus their kids are on? How often does someone need to track down a school bus that their kid is on? How often does a school bus have an issue that would require a parent to locate the school bus? Why do parents need to know where their children are at every second of the day? I thinks it is a solution in search of a problem? Just more nanny parents wanting technological over reach. Life 360 is stupid too.
Big swing and miss. Conroe ISD started using the app last year. I get a notice 5 minutes before the bus will be there to pick up in the mornings. Pretty useful to tell my kids to GTFO of the house and to the bus stop. Then I get a notice 5 minutes before drop off in the afternoons and another notice once my 7yo is dropped off. He gets dropped off at the culdesac down the street, so if I'm busy with work, I know when I should see him at the front door vs continuously walking outside and looking down the street. So to answer your question "how often does someone need to track down a school bus that their kid is on?" The answer is every day, and it's pretty damn handy.
BohunkAg said:Sea Speed said:
Why does a parent need to keep tabs on the route of the school bus their kids are on? How often does someone need to track down a school bus that their kid is on? How often does a school bus have an issue that would require a parent to locate the school bus? Why do parents need to know where their children are at every second of the day? I thinks it is a solution in search of a problem? Just more nanny parents wanting technological over reach. Life 360 is stupid too.
I used to think LIfe 360 was stupid until I had teenage kids that were driving.
I can understand the case when they are driving, but you put them on a bus you don't need to follow along.
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