NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) -
Parents at three Metro Nashville schools say they've had enough with the school district's transportation system.
They say for months, school buses have picked their kids up late - so late, in fact, many kids aren't making it to class on time.
When Sarah Moore gets her 7-year-old daughter on the school bus, she breathes a sigh of relief.
"I've been late to work almost every day since November, because I'm not going to leave before I know my daughter's safe on a bus," said Moore, whose child attends Ruby Major Elementary.
Moore said the bus that stops on her street has been late picking up the kids headed to Ruby Major by 15 to 40 minutes for the last several months.
It's the same experience with Paula Nelson's fourth grader at Ruby Major.
"There's been a couple of times where the bus hasn't even shown up, so we just take them to school," Nelson said.
Channel 4 News brought the parents' concerns to Metro Nashville Public Schools.
"Our priority is to make sure we get kids to school on time safely. In this case, the bus driver has been on leave, and finding a replacement has been difficult," said Metro spokeswoman Olivia Brown. "We don't currently have any substitute drivers in our transportation staff."
So, when one bus driver calls out, another has to double up on routes, disrupting schools, classes and kids.
Other complaints have involved Bailey and Donelson middle schools, and our news crew saw buses dropping kids at Donelson after the school bell rang Tuesday morning.
One even arrived 16 minutes after class started for the day.
Patricia Greenleaf says her seventh grader is constantly missing instructions at the top of class due to riding on a tardy bus.
However, Metro officials said the problem isn't widespread. And once the 30 open substitute positions are filled, they said all buses will be running on time.
To apply to become a Metro Schools bus driver, visit the career section of http://mnps.org or speak with a district representative at the Tennessee Career Center on Monday, Feb. 4 between 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
For any school bus complaints or concerns, contact Metro Schools Transportation Customer Service at 615-259-INFO.
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