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“I didn’t find that out until an hour after she got to school,� Shamblin said. "I'm shook, and [my] mind [is] blown that even happened."

Shamblin said the driver later told the middle schooler there wasn’t time to drop her off directly and claimed to administrators that a staff member was outside the school to escort her. But Shamblin disputes that, saying her daughter had to be buzzed in, with no adult supervision in sight.

Shamblin said she brought the issue to Kanawha County Schools’ Director of Transportation Jason Redman and Deputy Superintendent/incoming Superintendent Paula Potter. While she appreciated their willingness to speak, she said the root problem is ongoing: a lack of communication and consistency from drivers about bus delays and schedule changes.

Redman said the KCS transportation department shares daily updates about bus routes via Schoology, notifying families of delays, combined routes, or driver changes.

It’s part of his daily routine, and he's created it to inform parents about bus changes.

"We've utilized Schoology as much as we can," Redman said. "I post twice a day. My supervisors at the terminals do a great job of getting that information to me. The problem is that not every parent gets on Schoology."

However, Clay Medley, who serves on the Pinch Elementary School Local School Improvement Council, argues that frequent changes to bus schedules complicate matters for working parents and grandparents trying to coordinate their students' drop-off and pickup.

"I see the Schoology notes," he said. "They communicate to parents that bus routes change, and it's with regularity."

Medley said he believes these shifting schedules are just one piece of a larger transportation problem — one that may quietly contribute to attendance challenges. He estimates that only about one-third of students at Pinch Elementary ride the bus, and he suspects that’s not just by choice.

“I would like my kids to ride the bus, but I’ve reached out to the KCS transportation office, and they say our road is too small to have a bus,� he said. “But delivery vehicles, the trash truck and everybody else can make it up there.�

His street alone houses 10 children, five of whom attend Pinch Elementary with his first and third grader. Medley believes his area is far from the only one affected, he said.

Long bus rides, shifting routes, unclear criteria for bus eligibility, and students attending schools outside their designated zones all add up, he said, to more parents driving — and those without reliable transportation or flexible work schedules being left with fewer options.

He said the lack of busing is a barrier — particularly when the district emphasizes attendance, including incentives for students with consistent attendance.

"[It's] certainly a multifaceted issue that certainly impacts attendance, learning, and test scores," he remarked.

Did the 'hiring frenzy' pan out?

Though ongoing challenges and rolling daily changes remain, Redman said transportation has improved during his year as director.

“Overall, it’s been much better throughout this year than beginning when I took over last year,� he said. “No one’s perfect. Drivers aren’t perfect, and we make mistakes. Kids make mistakes. We try to make it a teachable moment.�

Kanawha County Schools operates 148 bus routes each morning and afternoon, covering all areas of the county. Buses also support field trips and extracurriculars. More than 200 employees — including drivers, support staff and supervisors — are spread across five terminals.

Redman said the department’s main focus has been improving staffing and ensuring consistent coverage, in part by building a pool of substitute drivers. These efforts mirror goals he outlined in the Gazette-Mail's previous coverage last October, when he described the system as being in a “hiring frenzy" for bus driver positions.

At that time, the county had 15 vacancies out of 150 full-time driver positions — many concentrated in the two largest terminals, South Charleston and Elkview. The shortage was especially challenging because there were no certified substitute drivers available to fill in.

While they didn’t meet their original hiring goal, the department made headway. Between November and March 20, Kanawha County Schools hired nine full-time and three substitute drivers, but six full-time drivers retired during the same period.

As of May 1, Redman said all but two full-time positions are now filled, with two candidates in the pipeline to hopefully fill them. The department is now focused on hiring additional substitutes to cover illnesses and long-term absences.

“We’re trying to build margin by having substitute bus drivers. Usually they’re retired drivers,� Redman said. “We want to have people actually on the road or ready, fully trained, fully certified to come to the transportation location and say, ‘All right, who’s sick today? Okay, I can jump on that.’�

With around 150 drivers on staff, absences are expected. Redman emphasized that a dependable backup system is critical to keeping things running smoothly.

Shamblin relayed another incident from the end of April that demonstrates Redman's point.

She recalled that her daughter waited for a bus that was more than 45 minutes late. She called the Elkview Terminal because she couldn't get an answer at South Charleston's "understaffed" terminal.

"When we have our regular bus driver, she's on time. She's amazing," Shamblin said. "And honestly, we can't function when she's not there."

Rewards for retention

Redman completed part of the bus driver training himself. He said he now better understands the lofty requirements. While a high school diploma, a clean criminal record and a clean driving record are the basic asks for transporting children for the county, drivers also have to acquire a commercial driver's license certification, drive two hours in a bus at night and complete 12 hours of behind-the-wheel bus training.

Redman has also been riding along on bus routes to observe their operation.

Mary Slate, a bus supervisor at the St. Albans terminal who began as a substitute driver in 1996, said training has improved under Redman. As a result, she's made fewer changes to bus routes at work. 

Redman and Slate said retirees and those looking to leave CDL-related jobs, like truck drivers, are most likely to apply. Both also emphasized it's an excellent and rewarding job for anyone who can drive a big vehicle and likes working with children.

"You have to love the kids," she said. "You might be the first smile they see in the morning."

Slate also said the relationships drivers build with children are profound.

"They get on the bus, they want to give you a hug, they want to give you things that they made" she said. "After they graduate, even when a few years go by and you run into them at Walmart, they run up and give you a hug. It's just a blessing."

She tearfully recalled one incident where a young girl stood on the side of the road with a rhododendron bush.

"I had a girl one day standing on the side of the road with a rhododendron bush. And I thought, 'She is not getting on this bus with that.'"

But then Slate's heart melted when the girl said, "This is for you."

And the bush rode home with her.

From the front of the bus

But driving a bus remains a demanding job, Slate added. The biggest challenge? Managing student behavior.

“It’s not that hard to drive [a bus] empty,� she said. “But once you get these kids on there, they’re going to be fighting, they’re going to be pushing and shoving, they’re going to be loud. And I try to get [new drivers] prepared, because it is something you really have to adjust to.�

Slate said many students' issues at home can follow them onto the bus, manifesting as poor behavior.

“Our children today really struggle... with not having enough support... broken homes ... missing their mom and dad. We have a lot of behavior issues on the buses. A lot of kids don’t respect us anymore like they used to,� she said. “When kids are mad ... they don’t want to listen to you.�

Slate acknowledged that pay has improved since she was hired — from $85 to $142 per day — but said it still doesn’t reflect the responsibility of transporting dozens of children.

"The pay is not the best," she acknowledged. She also worries about retaining the drivers Redman has brought on board long-term due to changes to state insurance benefits through PEIA.

Trying to turn the wheel

Redman also said new GPS-equipped tablet computers and turn-by-turn directions will soon be installed on buses as part of a district-wide initiative to replace a navigation and monitoring app implemented in the 2024-25 school year. While that app allowed parents to view their child's school buses in real time, feedback from parents indicated it was hard to keep up with when there were bus changes. Plus, the GPS tracking lagged because KCS relied on two separate systems to sync with each other.

Redman said the new system will unify routing, communication and student data into one platform. It’s designed to make bus tracking more accurate and reduce stress for both parents and staff. Parents will be able to see when their child boards and exits the bus using a system that works with district-provided student IDs to scan in and out of buses and alert parents. Tablets equipped on each bus with mobile data will allow for more efficient real-time bus updates as well.

Slate said Redman has spoken to drivers about the upgrades and that she's hopeful about the changes.

“Sometimes we have kids, they get on the wrong bus," she said. "And then nobody knows where that kid’s at, you know? We’re hollering, ‘Do you have his kid? Do you have his kid?’"

With some big changes for KCS on the horizon, Slate is optimistic about district leadership, praising both Redman's and Potter's commitment to improving the department.  

“[Potter] has made several visits to our terminal the past couple summers and school year, just checking on us, seeing if we need anything, how’s everything going,� Slate said. “Out of all the years, out of any of the other superintendents or deputy superintendents, I've never really seen that."

“Bus drivers always feel like they’re on the bottom of the pole,� she said. “And a lot of times, we get treated like that by the professionals.�