PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A Palm Beach County father is demanding answers after his daughter’s first day of school ended with what he calls an unsafe ride home.
“It's unacceptable, the situation, not only for her, but for the other six students that were also forced to sit on the aisle or subjected to," said Jon Borowka, whose 13-year-old daughter just started ninth grade at Suncoast High School.
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The photo, taken from the student’s point of view on the bus ride home, appeared to show students sitting on the floor, because every seat was already full.
“That’s not the experience you want to create for anybody in the school system,” Borowka said. “Sitting on the floor of a bus being transported to the school or your house.”
“What was the biggest concern when you saw that image your child sent you?” WPTV asked.
“Safety. What if that bus was in an accident,” Borowka responded.
The family lives in Lake Worth Beach, and Borowka said his daughter rides the bus, because she is enrolled in Suncoast’s magnet program. He added that it was her first time taking the bus to school.
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“Hopefully the school district will make this right somehow and fix this so that other students don’t have to go through the same problem this year,” Borowka said.
WPTV took Borowka's concerns to the School District of Palm Beach County.
During first day of school coverage, Palm Beach County Schools Superintendent Mike Burke acknowledged overcrowding can happen during the first weeks of school.
“If some buses are overcrowded, we level those out as we work our way into the school year,” Burke said on the first day of school.
Burke said the district typically needs about two weeks to fully determine which students are riding which routes.
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“We encourage every family to register their ride,” Burke said. “That helps us do a better job of routing and planning.”
WPTV followed up with the district about Borowka’s daughter and school officials said adjustments are routinely made during the first few weeks of school to accommodate students who either did not register before the school year or just started riding the bus.
Still, Borowka said the explanation misses the mark.
“The fact that they’re saying that we expect this to sometimes happen is absolutely unacceptable,” he said.
The district said student safety remains its top priority and is working to address the situation while stressing that students are never forced to sit on the floor.
FULL STATEMENT BELOW:
The safety of our students is our top priority. Please note that the beginning of every school year is a dynamic period for our Transportation Department. We never force students to sit on the floor. Our practice is to send a second bus if there are too many students, however, there are times that students do not want to wait for the second bus. Initial bus routes are planned based on students who are registered for transportation. However, as student ridership numbers settle during the first few weeks, we make regular adjustments to our routes. This process is essential to accommodate students who did not register before the school year or just began riding the bus.
This annual adjustment period can lead to temporary instances of overcrowding on some buses. Our transportation team takes all reports of overcrowding very seriously and works diligently to resolve these situations as swiftly as possible by rebalancing routes as ridership stabilizes.
To help us ensure a safe and efficient transportation system for everyone, we remind families of the importance of registering their child for a bus route through the Register Your Ride portal [palmbeachschools.org]. This essential step provides us with the accurate data needed to manage bus routes and capacity effectively. We remind all families with transportation questions to contact our Transportation Call Center at 561-357-1110 for assistance.
Borowka said he wants the district to take action.
“They need a short-term plan to fix what happened yesterday, and they need a long-term plan to mitigate this from ever happening again,” he said.
Borowka told WPTV his daughter didn't have issues today on the bus ride home from school.
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