Parents voice frustrations over late and absent school buses at CVUSD
Luis Avila
THERMAL, Calif. (KESQ) — Parents within the Coachella Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) say the new school year has brought daily transportation struggles.
From buses arriving late to not showing up at all, families are sounding the alarm over what they call a growing problem affecting their children’s education and well-being.
Jessica, a parent who asked to remain anonymous, shared her experience.
“My son who’s in elementary comes out at 2:45, but comes home at 4… That cannot be possible. The first two days of school, they didn’t come for them so I had to take came. I called transportation but they never answer, the district also didn’t answer.”
Jessica, Thermal Resident
To help address concerns, CVUSD recently rolled out a new bus tracking app designed to provide real-time updates for families. But some parents report the app isn’t working as expected.
“Many parents, including myself, do not have full access to the app. I have three children going to school, only one shows up in the system.”
Jessica, Thermal Resident
Dr. Imari Nicoloff, an educational consultant, says the issue goes beyond just being late for class — emphasizing how unreliable transportation can create barriers to educational access.
In response to our inquiry, CVUSD provided a statement:
“With more students riding the bus this year, we’ve expanded service by sending extra buses to some stops. While this can sometimes result in brief delays, it reflects our commitment to providing transportation for every student.We are also working on adding color-coded routes at each school, so families can quickly identify their student’s bus in the app. This improvement is still in progress.”
However, Nicoloff says those measures aren’t enough.
“Transportation is considered a designated service that the district agrees to provide. By not providing this in a legally binding contract, the district is responsible to figure that out one way or another.”
Dr. Imari Nicoloff, Educational Consultant
As many families remain uncertain whether improvements will come soon, some are losing faith.
In the meantime, the district is reminding students to scan their cards each time they board, which they say helps improve the accuracy of app updates for parents.
Stay with News Channel 3 for more.