“How do I get to school today?”: Some St. Louis public school students still have no transportation

ST. LOUIS – Three days into the new school year, transportation problems continue to arise in St. Louis public schools.

Additional parents have reached out to 5 On Your Side to say their children still have no way to get to and from class. Additionally, many parents are unable to reach anyone at the district's transportation office.

If you call the SLPS transportation service main number, you'll just hear more ringing, according to Kia Miller and ShaKara Green. That's all they've heard since Monday morning.

“I find it sad that parents can't even get someone to answer the phone, even though they know other people can reach them at that number,” Miller said.

Three days later, her sons were still not picked up for class.

When Green called the transportation line Wednesday afternoon, she said, “I call this number several times a day.” At one point, she landed on a voicemail saying the mailbox was full. Miller said, “The phone just rings and rings, no voicemail, nothing.”

Both Miller's and Green's sons have special needs.

“That's not right. They have a right to an education, too. Everyone has a right to an education, and it's disappointing that the district hasn't done everything it can to ensure that children can get that education,” Miller said.

Their mothers said this adds to the challenges for the six- and nine-year-olds.

“Whether he has special needs or not, these kids need to be able to get to school. Every day he's overwhelmed. 'How do I get to school today? Do I go to school today?' And he loves school. He loves going. He loves learning new things and different things. But it's hard to look him in the face and say, 'I don't know, buddy,'” Green said.

Miller and Green said they were never informed of their children's transportation plans this summer.

Miller, whose son Kamorion is in fourth grade at Sigel Elementary School, said the school had no solution. The school then instructed Miller to call traffic control.

“The school tells me there’s nothing they can do about it,” Miller said.

Green is in the same situation. Her son, Jermaine Whitfield Jr., is in first grade at Stix Early Childhood Center. She finally reached someone at the transportation center on Monday afternoon, but it ended badly.

“I guess Miss Brown didn't like that I was asking a lot of questions about my son's transportation. 'Can you call a taxi until he gets a bus?' But no, I was verbally abused and hung up on Monday and I haven't been able to get through to anyone since. It's not like they don't have the resources or taxis or buses to pick up the kids because there are two different taxi companies that pick up my 16-year-old and my 13-year-old,” Green said.

Green said if her son doesn't get transportation soon, she will have to homeschool him and quit her job.

“It's gotten to the point where we're probably going to have to take him out of school and I'm going to have to homeschool him, and that sucks. He's 6. He needs the socialization with peers. If they can't take him to school, there's no other option right now,” Green said.

The transportation problems have left Green feeling hopeless. She said, “I always advocate for his rights. To get so much resistance for something as small as transportation, which the county is supposed to provide for him, is overwhelming and frustrating. So I don't know. What do we do now? I'm still making phone calls. I'm still trying to make contact, but I'm still not getting any answers.”

Miller said it has become a financial burden because she has to book Uber rides to school for her son.

“My cousin works at the school. She lives around the corner, so we walk to her house every morning so he can get in the Uber with her, and that gets pretty expensive,” she said.

5 On Your Side has contacted SLPS regarding these ongoing concerns with the transportation line but has not yet received a response.