One area parent said her complaint about the irregular school bus schedule led to her child being harassed from an unlikely source — school officials.
Mesa Vista School District parent Margaret Alire told the Board, March 29, that an unnamed school employee started targeting her son, after she complained that the District’s transportation issues caused him to be stranded on more than one occasion.
She said the first time her son called her, in October 2016, saying he needed a ride from school, although inconvenient, she didn’t think too much it — after all, things happen. But, she began to grow concerned when she noticed that her son being stranded on his way to and from school was becoming a pattern.
“When my son first transferred to Mesa Vista, he called me and said, ‘Mom you have to come pick me up,’” she said. “I asked, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘Because there is no transportation,’ and I asked ‘Why no transportation?’ I thought the bus broke down or something and he said, ‘They didn’t have enough bus drivers.’”
Alire said she understands the District is trying to address the issue, but in the meantime, working parents must jump through hoops to make sure their child gets to school. Fortunately, she has been able to get help, on occasion, from various family members.
“I understand the issue is getting resolved and so forth, but I don’t think it is fair to parents who are working,” she said. “It is a duty of the school. It wasn’t the first time. It wasn’t the second or third time. It was two or three times a week and so forth. He is standing by the church waiting for the bus that never shows up.”
Alire said while she has been able to find alternative means to get her child to and from school, the transportation issues could seriously interfere with the lives and education of the students and families who don’t have the same level of support that she has.
She suggested District officials consider reducing the number of schools it operates, if they can’t meet the primary obligation of making sure students get to school safely.
“I just want my kids to have a proper education and transportation, and yes things happen, but it is happening two or three times a week — shut down the school then,” she said. “Some kids in Ojo and El Rito — their parents can’t transport them. Their parents are at work, so kids are missing school.”
District Superintendent Ernesto Valdez, after hearing Alire’s concerns, said he checked into the matter but, couldn’t validate her complaint.
“This is the first time I heard of this complaint,” he said. “I looked into this matter and her claim can’t be substantiated.”
Harassment
Hoping to learn why her son was routinely left stranded, Alire said she made several phone calls and sent numerous emails to District officials, but no one responded.
She broke with the traditional methods and sought to establish a dialogue with District officials, by any means necessary. This meant flagging them down at basketball games and sending messages to Board members’ work emails.
When she finally got a response from District officials, she said their responses were less than professional.
“I talked to the administration and I talked to the director of transportation,” she said. “I don’t like their attitudes at all. One employee said, why don’t I take my kids back to Española because I work there and I can transfer them myself?”
Board President John Garcia showed a hint of concern that one of the District’s employees would speak to a parent like that, but the concern was short-lived.
“Who said that?” Garcia asked.
Alire, because of a District policy that forbids those speaking during public comment from mentioning the name of the school official about whom they are complaining, identified the person by their position.
“The director of transportation,” she said. “I tried to speak to Mr. Valdez (Superintendent Ernesto Valdez) but I couldn’t reach him.”
Nate Mascareñas is the District’s transportation director.
Alire said not only does her son have to struggle with getting to school, once there, he has to put up with snide comments from those who should know better.
“My kids are the ones suffering because they are being told as well,” she said. “I can deal with it because I have thick skin. But, I don’t appreciate it when they are bringing it to my kids’ attention and saying, ‘Why you can’t go back over there to Española?’”
Garcia said he agrees with much of Alire’s points of view, and despite appearances, District officials are working on addressing the underlying staffing issue.
“You are correct,” he said. “It has been extremely difficult. The transportation situation has been almost impossible. I know it seems like we haven’t made any effort, but there has been an effort to get bus drivers. We had a couple of candidates come in and they just disappeared off the face of the Earth.”
He said the District recently hired one new bus driver who seems to be willing to stick around.
“We have a very reliable new bus driver who is exceeding all expectations,” Garcia said. “I don’t blame you for feeling the way you do, you have a legitimate reason. We are trying to make it better. None of this was intentional.”
To help bridge the gap and keep the buses rolling during staffing shortages, many rural school districts have started to require school administrators to get a Commercial Drivers License.
Garcia said the District is following suit and is working on getting the administrators licensed, so they can get behind the wheel, if need be.
However, Alire said she has been hearing that since October 2016, shortly after her son transferred from the Española School District.
Other complaints
A couple of other parents spoke during public comment, to complain about what they characterized as lack of communication on the District’s behalf.
Mesa Vista parent Felix Jaramillo wanted District officials to tell him why he had to learn about his son’s potential head injury on the Internet, instead of from the school’s administration.
“I was never notified about it,” Jaramillo said. “I had to find out about it over social media. A head injury is very serious, even if it is a slip, trip or fall. I think due diligence on your end wasn’t followed through. I didn’t get a call.”
He said his reason for contacting the District and speaking at the meeting, was to learn why it took nearly two hours to get his son medical attention.
However, Garcia said Jaramillo may have the facts wrong regarding the attention his son received.
“To my understanding, he was attended to medically,” Garcia said. “They had an EMT on the site almost immediately, to check on that type of thing.”
Another parent complained the Mesa Vista High School principal has been unresponsive to her concerns regarding her two sons.
She recounted an incident where one of her sons gave a fake name and boarded a bus to Dulce. About an hour into the trip, someone noticed he didn’t belong.
“About 9:30 a.m. they finally realized who he was and he wasn’t supposed to be there,” she said. “I was never notified. I was never called. I found out at 3 p.m. when I called to give him message. Where is the communication? Come on.”