ST. LOUIS — Students across the St. Louis Public School District had a mixed kick-off for their first day back from summer vaction.
Numerous last-minute transportation changes over the past week worsened the chaos that started back in March after Missouri Central School Bus Company canceled its contract with the district. The district resolved to using a combination of other school bus companies, metro buses, and other shuttles.
One mom, DeJanel Freeman, was left scrambling to get her kids to class after their new transportation vendor didn't arrive on time.
Freeman was told a couple of weeks ago that her three daughters, who attend Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, would catch a ride to school by a shared transportation van that would pick them up sometime between 6:15 a.m. and 6:30 a.m.
It was around 6:45 a.m. when Freeman decided to drive her daughters to school so they wouldn't be late on the first day.
She said she was never contacted by the school or the vendor company about why the van wasn't there.
"I'm curious about what's going to happen tomorrow. This is something that I can't be at work worrying about. This should've been rectified weeks ago, not the day of, not the day before. This is crazy, like I'm spinning. It's very frustrating to say the least," Freeman said.
After several calls, the transportation vendor, FirstAlt, told Freeman there was a driver issue and hoped it would be fixed by Tuesday morning.
Her three girls were dropped off at home Monday afternoon. However, Freeman was still disappointed by what happened.
"They have your hopes high, thinking that everything is going to be OK and my children are going to be able to get back and forth despite not having the buses. But then, it's like, will this be a problem too? I'm doing a lot of guessing and wondering. Just give me the facts and let me know what's going on so I can plan my day around it. But to have all these gaps in information and uncertainties, that's not OK," Freeman said.
FirstAlt told Freeman that the driver had shown up when she was already going to CVPA to drop her daughters off.
The vendor apologized for the van not showing up on time.
Numerous parents told 5 On Your Side they experienced everything on the spectrum when their kids were picked up this morning. Tracy Fantini and volunteers with the SLPS Parent Action Council said on-time pickups were common and that they were pleasantly surprised with the buses and other transportation options.
Sammie Harris' 7- year-old Samavion traded a yellow school bus for a black SUV to get to Hamilton Elementary School.
"Some days the bus don't come here until an hour later," Harris said.
The second grader is one of 6,200 kids being picked up by a private van service every day in the same car by the same SLPS vendor driver.
"I don't too much like it because having a kid in a car with somebody who is underage, no, I don't like that," Harris said.
Kymyatta is a 6-year-old who also goes to Hamilton. Walking home after the first day of school with her mom, Terlika Miller, she said she's already learned a lot.
"I learned how to be nice to people," Kymyatta said.
Other parents, however, said their kids were either picked up late or weren't picked up at all. Many parents who have tried to contact the transportation department haven't been able to get through, but some have.
Lafayette High School Junior Alyisa Washington said that "in the morning, the bus was late ... Probably like 15 minutes late."
Responding to parents concerns about making sure their children get to school on time, the district's acting superintendent Dr. Millicent Borishade said, "I stand with them. It should be better, and we're working to make it better."
Nearly 1,500 students are also taking Metro Transit to school.
"We haven't heard any issues with Metro but I do know as Dr. Borishade mentioned they did have safety officers, we had our safety officers present," SLPS Chief Operations Officer Square Watson said. "So, not bad for a first day."
"They've been doing what they always do," said district representative George Sells. "And that's the thing that I think gets lost somewhere in some of these conversations. We've got 4,000 people who are doing what they always do, and doing it really well, and they're going to be ready to greet these students today."
Transportation has been an issue for months, and after day one, Borishade is optimistic.
"One of the things I keep saying to the team is that we either win or we learn," Borishade said. "Right now, we're learning a lot."
"We appreciate the carpooling," Borishade said. "We appreciate parents saying, 'We're going to opt out and take my child to school, I'm going to take someone else's child to school.' It really shows the community that we have."
Parents like Miller, who plans to walk or drive her first-grader to and from Hamilton every day.
"I want to know about her protection, strangers, and her learning too," Miller said. "I just want my daughter to just get the best education she needs as a parent."
First day attendance was at 72%, which is the same as last year.
Getting kids to school was just one of the many questions Saint Louis Public Schools parents had heading into the first day.
Less than a month ago, Superintendent Dr. Keisha Scarlett was placed on a temporary leave of absence. This came after questions over the district's finances, which went from a surplus of $17 million to a deficit of $35 million. The state is now conducting an audit of the district.
There are also concerns from city leaders over top-level hires Scarlett brought in from Washington, including acting Superintendent Millicent Borishade.