District: No major issues reported on first day of school
With the exception of some expected issues with transportation, the first two days of school were deemed a success with no reports of any major problems or unexpected issues.
District Spokesperson Rob Spicker said Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier sent an email to staff concluding the first day of school that said “Thank you for your commitment to our core values and for making our schools and school system come alive again. The School District of Lee County is open for business; and it is all of you who made it happen.”
Spicker said the second day of school was off to a good start Thursday morning.
“While there will be individual issues that come up, the district as a whole is operating smoothly,” he said.
Patience is being requested of parents as the parent drop-off and pick-up lines are crowded the first few days of a new school year, and late buses will continue.
“Please give the schools into next week to maximize their efficiency,” Spicker said of the car lines.
Approximately 1,000 students were late for school on the first day Wednesday due to issues with drivers but the problem was not as bad as the district feared.
“That is much more manageable than we feared. We are making updates to the routes and riders today that will help us in some of the areas we had the most difficulty,” Spicker said. “If the (driver) absentee rate stays low it will significantly help keep buses on schedule.”
He said going on past years, they have more than 70,000 students that are eligible for transportation with more than 50,000 that have chosen to ride the bus.
On the first day of school only five bus drivers called in sick and, with the reduction of routes to 651, they only had to cover 39 routes.
Patience is also needed from bus riders, as there will be routes every day needing to be covered.
“Parents should also be reminded that all bus stop change requests are not processed until we are into the third week of school, so it will be a little while longer before we get to them,” Spicker said.
Parents are reminded to fill out the forms required by the Parents’ Bill of Rights for their children to be treated in the clinic, he said. Those forms can be located in their FOCUS Parent Portal.
“We would ask that all required forms be filled out as soon as possible. Parents without an account can create one at www.leeschools.net/our_schools/focus. Report cards will exclusively be available in the FOCUS Parent Portal this year so it is vital that our parents have an account,” he said.
To reach MEGHAN BRADBURY, please email news@breezenewspapers.com