PHOENIX — Students trying to attend classes at the East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT) are facing transportation issues during the first week of the school’s new transportation methods.
Some parents told ABC15 their students were left waiting for more than an hour and in another instance, students sat on the floor in a van as it was overcrowded.
EVIT said it took on the venture of transportation for the first time in the school’s history after striking a deal with nine partnering Valley school districts over the weekend.
The two sides had been in a funding dispute for more than a year. Before the deal, transportation plans were up in the air, and parents tried to figure it out for their own students.
However, there have been issues in EVIT’s first week. Melissa Narvaez said her 15-year-old student has been caught in the middle with the problems. She said in one instance, the driver left before the scheduled time, leaving him and other students behind.
“Just seeing his face, it’s just that crushing of just like, ‘Oh, a stressful day.’ School shouldn’t be stressful like that for kids. They shouldn’t be stressed about traffic and ride. It should be more seamless,” Narvaez said.
Mom Janet Tolar said her daughter had also been late to class because of transportation issues. On the third day, she said her daughter got to school an hour late.
“This has been very stressful, trying to navigate pickups and drop-offs and communicating and making sure, ‘Do I know she got there? How late did she get there?’” Tolar explained.
On Wednesday, Tolar said her daughter saw an overcrowded van take students to and from their schools and that some students didn’t have seats and sat on the floor.
"These are our children. These are our prize packages, and they need to be transported in a very safe manner,” she said.
EVIT superintendent Chad Wilson told ABC15 that driver is no longer working EVIT routes.
“That is completely unacceptable for EVIT but it's also unacceptable from the provider because we immediately reached out to them and explained the concern of the situation we had,” he said. “It’s my understanding that the individual responsible for that decision is no longer providing transportation for EVIT students. Safety is paramount to what we want for our students, not only while they’re on our campus, but also the time and the way they get to our campus and get home.”
Wilson told ABC15 he acknowledges there have been issues with transportation and knew there would be some kinks to work out as they started up this year.
He said they’re partnering with a third-party company called Harbor Transportation. According to their website, they provide transport for other state entities.
“We’re not contracting with Uber. We’re not contracting with Lyft. We’re not contracting with any of those individuals. We’re contracting with a company that’s guaranteed us that all of our drivers have valid fingerprint clearance cards, go through random drug testing, have a GPS. They understand the significance that we have drivers we can trust with our students,” Wilson said.
Do you have a concern in your community or a news tip? We want to hear from you!
Connect with us: share@abc15.com
Parents are hoping and Wilson believes that things will get better as they work out the kinks early in the school year.
“He said, ‘Maybe I don't want to do it. This is so stressful. I'm standing in the heat two hours, every day, it's been a different issue,” Narvaez said of her son. “I told him, ‘Next week will be better. Give them some grace right now.’”
ABC15 also reached out to the attorney representing the nine school districts about transportation issues for the first day of school. This was their response on Tuesday:
"Developing transportation schedules that are efficient and meet the needs of all students is a complex task that requires significant technical expertise. The nine East Valley school districts have long managed both their own regular transportation needs and those of students attending EVIT and understand firsthand how difficult that work is. Most of the districts have entire transportation departments devoted to the issue.
The transportation issues EVIT experienced on its first day are unfortunate. They are also predictable. The districts, in fact, spent significant time trying to explain the complexities regarding transportation throughout these negotiations. EVIT refused to take the districts’ warnings seriously and even today, refuses to coordinate with the districts regarding transportation of district students.
The nine districts hope this is resolved quickly so students can be in the classroom, and parents can rest assured that all is well. They remain focused on their students and their responsibilities. Any questions about EVIT's transportation operations should be directed to EVIT."
Tolar said she hopes something gets figured out, as she’s tired her student and others being in the middle of the dispute.
"I think both sides should be held responsible for this and fully feel that they have not done right by our kids, and they definitely have not done right by our families here in Arizona that are participating in this program,” she said.
Want more news in your community? Add ABC15 as a preferred source on Google below:
