Photo of crowded Columbia County bus raises parents’ concern

COLUMBIA COUNTY, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Kids in Columbia County have been back in the classroom for exactly a week now. And that means they’ve been back on the buses too.

Here’s a photo that one parent shared with us showing a crowded bus full of students hardly a mask in sight.

We sent that photo to the district for comment. They say they couldn’t comment on it. They say that social distancing is not possible at all times. They do have an expectation that people will wear a face mask at all times on the bus and encourage parents to talk with their children. Parents feel it’s a basic safety issue that needs to be fixed.

One Columbia County parent says this is nothing new.

“Previous years when my daughter went there was overcrowding but not this bad,” said Angela Slade, a Columbia County parent.

This photo is from Wednesday afternoon. Angela Slade says her son snapped the photo after kids piled on the school bus to go home. Almost no one wearing a mask and nowhere to sit.

“That was heartbreaking to actually see it. For these children to be standing up on this bus to get home. That’s unsafe. Unsafe. And for my child to have to do that? No,” she said.

The district says no buses are over capacity and about five percent are at capacity.

We reached out to the district about how bus routes are changed to ease congestion. They say after a bus gets to school they count the number of students on the bus. If it’s too crowded they’ll adjust the routes, change a student’s bus number, or change the pick-up and drop-off times.

“When he saw when he got on that bus how crowded it was he turned around and said no I feel unsafe I’m having my mother to come get me. I’m not taking that chance. Not with my life,” she said.

Some parents say it’s hard for them to trust sending their kids to school on the bus.

“Very frustrating. Very. I’m just thankful my son was smart enough to get off the bus and that he felt unsafe,” she said.

The district says that within the first two weeks of school they have a lot of movement with the amount of kids getting on and off the buses. They also say they do not have staff on the buses to monitor if students are following their guidelines.

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