KLEIN, Texas – The school year kicks off for Klein Independent School District Tuesday morning, and a question on parents’ minds, how safe are the buses in the middle of a pandemic?
Josh Rice, Director of Transportation Services for Klein ISD, is charged with the task of keeping buses safe and clean.
“In my 20 years of being in the transportation industry I feel like the buses are cleaner than they’ve ever been,” said Rice.
Rice said he revamped cleaning policies for the school year.
“I feel like kids are very safe to get on the bus, I think it’s a healthy environment that we’ve created for them with our new sanitation disinfectant processes,” said Rice.
Rice said as soon as your children get on the bus, they’ll be offered hand sanitizer, disposable wipes and masks if they don’t have them.
Klein ISD has approximately 350 buses. Rice said buses will be deep cleaned once a week and will undergo electrostatic disinfection after morning and afternoon routes.
Rice estimates about 50% of students will attend classes in person, which will help with social distancing on the bus.
”Right off the bat we expect a lower ridership, which will allow for a little bit of social distancing on the bus, we will be able to spread our kids out more and utilize that space,” said Rice.
The new cleaning policies will likely continue post coronavirus to mitigate the spread of germs on the bus, according to Rice.
“We want to make sure that we provide a healthy environment for our students as well as a safe environment for our students because our goal here at Klein ISD is to stay safe and stay open,” said Rice.
Rice stressed masks are not optional. Whether on the bus or at school, students have to wear one.