Tecumseh parents voice busing concerns

School district says misinformtion, social media are part of problem.

As many as 60 people attended the Tecumseh Board of Education meeting on Wednesday night, many bringing with them their concerns about busing issues for the start of the 2013-14 school year.

The district’s superintendent said the issue has been misinterpreted, primarily because of social media.

Parents have contacted the district and the media about their belief that buses are overcrowded. Routes were changed after an operating levy failed in a special election in early August.

News crews at the meeting reported shouting, and the majority of attendees expressed concern with overcrowded buses and with high school students not having buses and having to walk to school.

A lot of misinformation has been sent out about busing, especially through social media, Superintendent Brad Martin said.

“I would say 95 percent of the people left much happier than when they came in,” Martin said after the meeting. “I think a lot of it is gossip.”

Martin said the district has two buses running with up to 68 students on the bus, but those buses are designed to hold 72 students.

“We’d prefer below 60, but we do what we can,” said Martin, noting that the district is working to redistribute some of the children of the high capacity routes to other buses.

The school’s administration said any parents who believe their child is sitting in an aisle or is being forced to stand should call the district with a specific bus number and time the incident occurred.

Tecumseh has an operating levy headed for the ballot in November, and Martin said the passage of the levy would increase driver hours and a return for some bus routes.

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