There are three Harmony schools on one campus off the North Sam Houston Tollway and because they are charter, there are no busses which means every parent has to pick their kids up.
And some say that’s no easy task.
”Every day, every day,” said one parent in line. “I waste a lot of time here… Three hours!”
The long line that starts growing hours before dismissal crowds a portion of the busy road’s right lanes. It’s not only noticeable to parents but also people who live in neighboring communities.
”You got to go a different direction,” resident Charles Thomas said. “This may be my quickest way home, but at a certain time in the day or a certain time of morning, I know I can’t go that way so I have to make plans and go a different route.”
On Friday, Harmony Public Schools officials released the following statement.
”We are aware that there are some longer-than-expected pickup times for some of our student families at Harmony School of Advancement. Longer pickup lines aren’t unusual for the first couple of weeks of a new school year, especially as school staff and parents get used to a new routine. We expect our very popular after-school programs to help alleviate traffic when they start on Monday by staggering the times at which parents pick up their students. However, we also are proactively discussing options for further improvement to traffic flow around the campus, and we will continue to have an on-site traffic officer at dismissal to help keep traffic moving safely.”
Thomas who has lived in the area since 1981 says if that doesn’t work, has his own ideas for solutions.
”The school needs to buy the property to the side of them or either behind them and make an extra parking lot to get the cars off the streets, that’s the only option I see, or you can shut the school down and move,” Thomas said.
