PASADENA, Texas – Several parents in the Twin Villas neighborhood off Red Bluff in Pasadena say they’re upset with a change by Deer Park ISD leaders on school bus pick-up locations.
“It’s a pretty big neighborhood to have to walk that far all the way up there,” said a Deer Park ISD parent who didn’t want to be identified due to their connection with the district. “It’s just not. It’s not safe. It’s not a good situation.”
Parents tell KPRC 2′s Rilwan Balogun last year students were picked up at various locations in the gated community, but this year things changed. All students are required to meet towards the front of the neighborhood by cluster mailboxes.
Balogun met Cynthia Gandarilla, a parent of a Carpenter Elementary School second grader.
She walked almost a quarter mile to get to the entrance with her youngest son in tow.
“It’s horrible,” she tells Balogun of the change. “They’re giving us excuses that, I think, shouldn’t matter. First, they told us it was the gates. We’ve had those gates for the past six, seven years. The gates are always unlocked when the buses come, so there’s no issue.”
Gandarilla continues sharing what she calls district excuses, such as, small streets and treating neighborhood as an apartment complex in how they pick up students at one central location.
She said she called the district each day during the first week of school.
“They were just giving us excuses,” Gandarilla said. “I mean, if they would have given us a good reason why, I would understand. But all the excuses they’re giving us are excuses to get us to stop complaining about it, is the way I see it.”
A district spokesperson, in a statement, said they are listening.
“We are in the process of adding several extra stops in the neighborhood,” the district spokesperson said. “In fact, our route specialist drove through Twin Villas this morning. The challenge is that lots of vehicles park on the street, and there are also numerous speed bumps on the streets, which make it difficult for buses to navigate the neighborhood.”
After getting several calls in recent days, the spokesperson said they are considering a change.
“Our transportation team is aware of the concerns, and we are working on a solution. We hope to have the new route in place by Monday,” a spokesperson said.
Full district statement:
“First, and most importantly, your original message said that the new bus stop results in elementary students being picked up “on Red Bluff Road instead of inside the neighborhood.”
I think there has been a misunderstanding or a miscommunication about the bus stop. Currently, buses stop inside the Twin Villas neighborhood near the first set of mailboxes, which are located inside the neighborhood to the left. The bus does not pick up or drop off children “on Red Bluff” (and never has). It’s also important to note that this is a gated community, so the bus has to enter through the gate to reach the bus stop. I drove over to the neighborhood to see it myself.
Second, and also importantly, we have received several calls from parents about this bus route, and our team is working to resolve the issue.
According to our transportation director, we are in the process of adding several extra stops in the neighborhood. In fact, our route specialist drove through Twin Villas this morning. The challenge is that lots of vehicles park on the street, and there are also numerous speed bumps on the streets, which make it difficult for buses to navigate the neighborhood. (This is what prompted the route change in the summer.)
But, again, our transportation team is aware of the concerns, and we are working on a solution. We hope to have the new route in place by Monday.”