Henry County parents blame bus schedule issues for students missing class

HENRY COUNTY, Ga. - Some parents in Henry County say the new school year is off to a bumpy start with significant bus delays that have caused their children to miss class. 

One mother tells FOX 5 her daughter missed her first day of classes at Hampton Middle School because the bus that was supposed to pick her up never showed up. 

"It was a lot of up in the air…are our kids going to make it to school, are they not?" parent DeAnn H. asked. 

That’s the question she’s been asking herself for the last few days. 

"No parent should have to worry about their child getting to school at all," she said. 

She told FOX 5 that was the reality for her daughter and other children who live in Hampton on the first day of school. 

"We came out here in time, we made sure they were out here early," she stated. "At 11 a.m., I get a text message from my daughter saying that the bus just will not come to them." 

DeAnn says when she reached out to school officials for answers, she was told their hands were tied and that she may need to consider other options in getting her daughter to school. 

"That’s unacceptable for public school… they’re entitled to that public school transportation," she told FOX 5. 

Henry County parents say bus scheduling issues have caused their children to miss classes as they headed back to school.  (FOX 5)

The mother says it’s since been marked as an unexcused absence on her daughter’s record. 

"They’re being denied education because they’re not going to get to their first period classes…it’s not fair for any of the kids on the bus." 

Parent Elizabeth F. says scheduling issues with bus routes have been an ongoing problem in the seven years her kids have attended Henry County Schools. 

"My kids get a lot of anxiety if they miss something or they have a test coming up and they’re not going to make it in time," she explained.

Henry County School officials did not go into detail about the cause of the problem. 

"It’s frustrating because the same thing happened last year…if they need to do some rescheduling, some re-routing then they need to do that," DeAnn stated. 

Henry County parents say bus scheduling issues have caused their children to miss classes as they headed back to school.  (FOX 5)

A Henry County Schools spokesperson shared the following statement:  

"HCS is committed to providing safe, effective, and dependable transportation for all students, and we appreciate our community’s patience and understanding as we work to resolve any issues over the first few days of school. We began the 2024-2025 school year with 20 more bus drivers than this time last year, in addition to several others still in training. All routes are covered; however, we continue to work with drivers to familiarize them with their new routes and improve pickup and drop-off times."