FNSBSD: Transportation Update | August 19, 2021
The district and Durham have been working continuously over the summer to prepare for the first day of school. Adjusting routes and stops for our many bus riders while facing the nationwide problem of short staffing has proved to be challenging.
Each year the first week of school brings many adjustments and changes for schools, students and transportation.
Prior to returning to in person learning in January 2021, the district implemented a bus registration system to help us plan routes and stops. The district is continuing this practice for the start of this school year.
We had about 5000 students registered as bus riders as of last Friday. Thank you to those families that registered early. We know families have so many things to remember at the start of school.
In the two days leading up to the first day of school, the district received approximately 2000 additional bus rider registrations. This created a new layer of difficulty for our limited transportation staff to process.
Also, for the first week, the district and Durham continues to use “Flag Days”. This allows a student to flag down a bus in the morning if they are unsure of where their bus stop is.
For after school, parents can help with drop off by having their student learn the address of their drop off location. For younger students, a note in their backpack with this information can help the school and bus driver get students to the correct drop off location.
In the event of a transportation issue, the district and Durham are providing a layered approach to various transportation scenarios.
Transportation issues will be prioritized as follows:
- Student drop off/pick up issues
- Late buses that are not on the district website late bus list
- Missed stops
- Driver complaints
All other requests will be processed after priority calls.
If a parent cannot locate their student, please check with family and friends first. Then check the late bus report on the districts website.
If those options do not resolve the issue their first point of contact should be Durham.
Fairbanks: 907-206-7789 (6:00am-5:30pm)
Moose Creek/North Pole: 907-206-7789, option 4 (6:00am-5:00pm)
Depending on the urgency of the situation, please allow a reasonable amount of time for Durham to respond. The first week of school, there is a high volume of calls so repeat attempts are appreciated.
The next step will be to contact our District Transportation Department.
District Transportation
907-452-2000 Option 4
If they are not able to respond in a reasonable amount of time, please contact the Superintendent’s Office for urgent issues and our staff will assist.
Superintendent’s Office
907-452-2000 Extension 11401
Families should provide the following information to expedite the process:
- Student Name
- School
- Grade
- Route number or route picture (octopus, squirrel, etc)
- Any other information that would help.
We truly appreciate your patience as we work through this first week of school.
