Deer Park ISD considers changing bus routes after parent complaints

Several parents in the Twin Villas neighborhood near Red Bluff in Pasadena are expressing anger over a change in school bus pickup locations by Deer Park ISD school officials.

“It’s a pretty big neighborhood if you have to walk all the way there,” said a parent from Deer Park ISD who asked to remain anonymous because of his connection to the district. “It’s just not safe. It’s not a good situation.”

Parents tell KPRC 2’s Rilwan Balogun that last year, students were picked up at different locations in the complex, but this year that has changed. All students must meet at the front of the neighborhood at mailboxes.

Balogun met Cynthia Gandarilla, a mother of a second-grader at Carpenter Elementary School.

She had to walk nearly a quarter of a mile with her youngest son in tow to get to the entrance.

“It’s terrible,” Balogun says of the change. “They give us excuses that I don’t think should matter. First they told us it was because of the gates. We’ve had these gates for six, seven years. The gates are always unlocked when the buses come, so there’s no problem.”

Gandarilla continues to cite so-called district excuses, such as small streets and treating a residential neighborhood like an apartment complex when picking up students at a central location.

She said she called the district every day during the first week of school.

“They just gave us excuses,” Gandarilla said. “I mean, if they had given us a good reason, I would understand. But all the excuses they give us are excuses to stop complaining about it, that’s how I see it.”

A district spokesman said in a statement that they were listening.

“We are in the process of establishing several additional stops in the neighborhood,” the district spokesperson said. “In fact, our route specialist drove through Twin Villas this morning. The challenge is that there are many vehicles parked on the street and there are also numerous speed bumps on the roads that make it difficult for buses to navigate through the neighborhood.”

After several calls in the last few days, the spokesperson said they are considering a change.

“Our transport team is aware of the concerns and we are working on a solution. We hope to have the new route operational by Monday,” a spokesman said.

Full district statement:

“First and most importantly, your original message stated that the new bus stop would result in elementary school students being picked up ‘on Red Bluff Road instead of in the neighborhood.'”

I believe there was a misunderstanding or miscommunication regarding the bus stop. Currently, buses stop in the Twin Villas neighborhood near the first mailboxes located on the left side of the neighborhood. The bus does not pick up or drop off children “on Red Bluff” (and never has). It is also important to note that this is a gated community so the bus must go through the gate to get to the bus stop. I drove into the neighborhood to see it for myself.

Second, and this is also important, we have received several calls from parents about this bus route and our team is working to resolve the issue.

According to our transportation manager, we are in the process of adding several additional stops in the neighborhood. In fact, our route specialist drove through Twin Villas this morning. The challenge is that there are many vehicles parked on the street and there are also numerous speed bumps on the roads that make it difficult for buses to travel through the neighborhood. (This was the reason for the route change in the summer.)

But our transport team is aware of the concerns and we are working on a solution. We hope to have the new route operational by Monday.”