Thousands of students in grades K-12 in Escambia and Santa Rosa will return to school on Monday, and transportation officials say they are ready to get them from home to school and back again.
The school administrations of both school districts point out that parents should also expect delays in the first few weeks.
“We’re going to be late, so don’t panic,” said Darlene Hart, transportation director for the Escambia County School District. “We’re going to our elementary schools to make sure our little ones are on the right buses, and that takes a while. Please be patient, we’re making sure our babies are OK.”
Travis Fulton, Santa Rosa school’s director of purchasing and contract management, said the transportation department is ready for the school year, but there will be delays.
“The problems are being fixed,” he said, pointing out that the district operates 180 bus routes each school day, starting at 5:30 a.m. and ending around 4:30 p.m.
Escambia County currently has 200 bus drivers hired for the 2024-2025 school year. Hart said another 10 will be hired on Monday – the first day of school – to serve the 628 morning and afternoon trips (1,258 daily) to 54 schools.
“We transport about 18,000 to 19,000 students on any given day. Our furthest route is north near the border of Atmore, Alabama, west to Perdido Key, south to Pensacola Beach and east to the Escambia Bay Bridge on U.S. 90,” Hart said.
In Santa Rosa County, 190 bus drivers have been hired for the district’s 35 schools, according to Fulton. This year, Santa Rosa officials expect to transport 17,000 to 18,000 students daily.
“Our longest routes – the routes for students with special needs – range from 45 minutes to over an hour. These students are sent to school as needed,” said Fulton, who added that these routes transport students with individual education plans (IEPs).
“The shortest regular routes take about 20 minutes to school and back home.”
In March, the Santa Rosa School District implemented the Stop Arm Camera Program, and Fulton said violators would be prosecuted.
“The violators are photographed and their information is forwarded to the sheriff’s department,” he said of the program, which launched March 4 after a 30-day notification and information campaign.
Fulton added that the district has a three-tier bus pickup system because schools have different start times.
“In rural areas, the first bell rings at 7:15 a.m. and the last bell is at 3:24 p.m.,” he said, noting that those students have earlier pick-up times in Jay, Munson, Central, Berrydale, Allentown and other communities in northern Santa Rosa County.
Hart said that in Escambia County, the routes in the north of the county are the longest, with pickups starting at 7:25-7:30 a.m. and the latest drop-off being at 5:30 p.m.
Both Hart and Fulton said their districts are better prepared this year compared to the start of the 2023-2024 school year.
“Last year we started the school year with 186 drivers. This year the district is starting with 210, so it will be a night and day difference,” she said. “Because we didn’t have enough drivers last year or some dropped out, we had to have other district personnel cover 21,404 open routes for the year. That personnel included a cafeteria manager, a teacher, school garage employees, a Pensacola police officer and transportation department managers.
“We have a great team. Our people care about the students who go to school in the district.”
Bus drivers from both districts conducted test drives and completed safety and other training this week.
