St. Louis Public Schools parents concerned about student safety in transportation plan
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4)—As St. Louis Public Schools transportation trip-ups and struggles continue, parents tell First Alert 4 their plans have security flaws.
“Safety is the biggest issue of this whole thing not just for mine but for everybody else that send their children, send their child to St. Louis Public Schools,” said parent Clemetine Bragg.
Bragg was with her teen on Monday when the district kicked off its Metro Bus plan for high schoolers. The mom captured a person sleeping at the Gravois/Hampton stop.
“They may not mess with them one day, but what if they mess with them another day,” Bragg says. “It’s just bad all the way around. St. Louis Public Schools should have fixed it before it got to this point.”
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A district spokesperson told First Alert 4 that while it’s impossible to have security at every stop, the district will patrol along the Metro routes. In addition, SLPS has coordinated with volunteers to monitor safety hazards as well.
“I would love to file some sort of suit against Missouri Central Bus company, says NAA President, Adolphus Pruitt. Any harm that’s brought to the students they bear some responsibility for.”
Pruitt said Missouri Central Bus Company put the district in a position to fail. The bus company ended its contract with St. Louis Public Schools a year early.
Now the school district is relying on Metro Transit to take high schoolers to class and van services to transport elementary school students.
“St. Louis Public Schools need to have their own transportation company. I feel the city bears a lot of responsibility in making sure they can do that, the costs to make that happen regardless of where it comes there,”
“It’s a nightmare for parents to have to put their kids in vehicles that they know nothing about,” Bragg says. I think it’s going to take something to happen to see that this is a big issue. This is a big concern not just for me but for other parents.”
To assist St. Louis Public Schools in safety monitoring ride stops visit the district’s Adopt A Stop campaign for more information or email [email protected].
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