Bus Problems Close Muncie Community Schools On Second Day

Muncie Community Schools has cancelled classes on the second day of its new school year because of widespread bus route problems with its new bus company.

Angry parents complained to the district and on social media Wednesday that buses were late, drove by their children at bus stops without stopping, or never appeared at all.

In a short statement by email, the district apologized for the problems and says it will review transportation plans.  MCS has promised an update to bus routes on Thursday afternoon.

As part of its deficit reduction plan, MCS this year ended its decades-long contract with local M&M Bus Company and contracted with Auxilio Services, based in Michigan.  The change is supposed to save the district $1.2 million a year.

Not all school board members voted in favor of the change, however, because Auxilio’s contract said it would pick up the same number of student as M&M with less than half the number of bus routes.  To do that, school start times were staggered this year.

In a post on his blog, MCS Superintendent Steven Baule asked parents to realize that “buses normally run late for the first couple days each year.”