HOWARD, S.D. (KELO) — School buses are an essential part of the day — helping bring kids to and from school safely, but a mom from the Howard school district is voicing concern over her kindergarten-aged child being picked up by the bus along a busy highway.
Korisa Haak believes it is unsafe for her kindergartener or any other child in the district to be picked up and dropped off on a highway.
“Any child, not just our family, any child that’s on a highway shouldn’t have to risk that. There was a death in Wessington Springs last winter, and if that bus wouldn’t have been on the highway, it wouldn’t have happened,” Haak said
The superintendent of the Howard School District declined to speak on camera, but in an email, Stephen Vigliotti said quote, “Students are picked up and dropped off, so they do not have to cross the road.” and that “Bus drivers have been professionally trained and licensed to ensure student safety.” He says they take their responsibilities very seriously and are diligent every day.
But that still makes Haak uneasy.
“Everybody says, ‘Well, they have flashing lights and the stop sign and all that.’ That doesn’t mean anything. I mean, we took her to school this morning and I took a picture of a vehicle coming, and you can’t even really see them because of the sun,” Haak said.
Haak just wants her child to be safe, and one suggestion she has given to the school district is for them to pull into their private driveway instead of the bus sitting on busy Highway 34.
“People go flying by, they’re speeding, they pass on the shoulders, they pass in a no passing zone. A lot of times I don’t know how many times I meet vehicles that they’re not even looking at the road,” Haak said.
Haak says her driveway is big enough for the bus to pull in and turn around, but Vigliotti says the district doesn’t pull buses or mini-buses into private driveways. If a student requires special accommodations, they use smaller vehicles. He says the district doesn’t have the resources to pull into every driveway, because quote, “If you honor one request shouldn’t you honor all requests?”
Haak considered using one of the school’s smaller vehicles for her daughter.
“She’d have to ride for over an hour. It’s a very long trip.” Haak said.
To that, Vigliotti said, “Many parents don’t like the length of the rides…” He says the district doesn’t have the resources to buy more buses and hire more drivers.
Haak also says that other districts in the area are willing to pull into private driveways. Right now, she and her husband are driving their kindergartener to and from school.
