OKCPS Students Wait Over 2 Hours For School Bus

A metro father said several children, including his own, were forced to wait over two hours for a school bus to arrive at their stop Friday. 

Jayson Beckett was on Facebook live waiting for the school bus to arrive for kids at Northwest 91st Street and N Military Avenue in Oklahoma City. 

Beckett said the bus is scheduled to arrive around 8:30 a.m.  When it reached 10 a.m., Beckett decided to get food and juice for the kids while they waited.

The school bus arrived, Beckett said, around 11 a.m. when school had already started.

“The bus driver was nice enough to stop and let them eat, but that is unacceptable,” said Beckett. “There are six little girls out here, these people are supposed to take care of our kids not let them stand in the corner. That is not right.”

Beckett was the only adult around at the time. He hates to think what would have happened if that wasn't the case.

“There are a bunch of crazy people out here that do bad things, it could have been another story,” said Beckett.

Oklahoma City Public Schools (OKCPS) officials told News 9 the district is currently experiencing a bus driver shortage.

OKCPS released the following statement to News 9:

“As we move through the first few weeks of school, we always expect to see a few issues bubble up that need resolution. This year, we have experienced some exceptional challenges with transportation as we welcome a number of new bus drivers and implement a complete restructure of our bus routes, along with welcoming a growing number of students who are riding the bus for the very first time. Even several of our school sites are welcoming bus riders to their campus for the very first time. Rest assured that our district teams are working feverishly to address these issues. As always, the safety and security of students is our top priority, and we are committed to transporting all children in a safe and timely manner. Although it is not perfect yet, we have seen improvements, and we expect that to continue in the days ahead. We are grateful to our students, families and staff for their continued patience.”

Beckett said he has since taken his kids out of OKCPS and enrolled them at another school.