Stafford officials should make improvements in leadership and training as a result of a bus transportation problem that occurred at the beginning of the school year, a consultant told the county School Board on Tuesday night.
Those were two of the recommendations made by Christopher Wojciechowski, a consultant with the firm Transportation Advisory Services.
The company was hired by the county to examine what happened when schools opened with about 3,000 students not having received a bus route, forcing parents and caregivers to make alternate arrangements for getting those children to school.
Transportation Advisory Services found that some of the issues contributing to the bus mishap were related to a restructuring of the schools’ Transportation Services Department, Wojciechowski said.
“The structure and how students were being transported and scheduled and routed changed dramatically,” he said.
New bus routing software the division began using at the start of the school year also contributed to problems, Wojciechowski said. That software has “great capabilities,” he added, but related testing and training were “not thoroughly done.”
Moving forward, the consultant wants to see “clear and consistent” leadership in school transportation circles and improved training. While bus drivers receive excellent training, said Wojciechowski, office staff could be trained better.
“They need to understand what their roles and responsibilities are,” he said. “They need to understand how they can work cohesively together.”
Wojciechowski said the county should also ensure there is real-time tracking of all buses.
“That’s not necessarily the case right now,” he said.
School Board Patricia Healy said it seems like the bus problem arose from a “perfect storm” of several factors.
“But,” she said, “the result was an incredible burden on our community.”
Healy, who represents the Rock Hill District, said she wants to know why school officials didn’t know earlier that bus routing was going to be a problem.
There was a lot of pressure on transportation staff to make the new software work, Wojciechowski answered, because there was no turning back once the program went live.
“There was a want to make it work until they knew, ‘OK, it’s impossible; we can’t make it work,’” he said. “So I think that they waited a little bit too long to notify people that it didn’t work.”
School Board member Alyssa Halstead said that now that she and her colleagues know what happened, it’s up to them to act.
“I think now it rests on us to pick this information up off the paper and put feet on it and fix it,” said Halstead, who represents the Hartwood District.
Also on Tuesday, the board voted 6-1 to approve a high school redistricting plan to go along with the building of the county’s sixth high school, scheduled to open in August 2026 on Truslow Road.
The new school, which has not been named yet, won’t have a senior class when it opens; rising seniors affected by the redistricting will have the option of staying at their current school.
To fill school No. 6, 886 students will come over from Colonial Forge High School, as well as 272 students from Mountain View High School and 587 students from Stafford High School. That makes for a total of 1,744 students.
Stafford, North Stafford and Brooke Point high schools, which now operate above 100 percent capacity, will see reductions in student numbers with the redistricting. Stafford will go to 88 percent from 108 percent, North Stafford from 105 percent to 75 percent and Brooke Point from 108 percent to 86 percent.
The board’s approved plan, called “Scenario F1,” was chosen from among five alternatives.
School Board member Elizabeth Warner, who represents the Griffis-Widewater District, said the chosen proposal maximizes the use of Mountain View and accomplishes other goals.
“I just think that it’s the most effective plan to try to balance all the divergent needs that we’re trying to meet with our redistricting,” she said.
Healy, who supported another plan, cast the sole dissenting vote.
In other business, the board:
- Officially recognized the work of Healy, whose 25 years of service make her the longest-serving school board member in Stafford history.
“Your commitment to the families of Stafford County, your tireless advocacy for high-quality education and your steady hand during times of change has made a difference in countless lives,” board Chairwoman Maureen Siegmund said to Healy, who was given a sparkly silver 25-year sash to wear. “On behalf of the students, families, educators and community members whose lives you have touched, we thank you.”
- Voted unanimously to re-elect Siegmund, who represents the Garrisonville District, as chairwoman, and Aquia District representative Maya Guy as vice chairwoman.
