Brittany Kelley
KYLE — Hays CISD has added an additional bus route to a middle school to promote safety and create comfortability for students, following videos circulating online of unsafe conditions.
According to chief communications officer Tim Savoy, district officials alerted him Aug. 19, two days after the first day of school, to a social media post that depicted students in the aisle of a Hays CISD school bus the day prior.
This video was from Holly Sewell, who explained at the Aug. 27 Hays CISD Board of Trustees meeting that her son rode home on the floor of the bus against the rear emergency door exit.
“There were several other children sitting on the floor and we heard from several other parents who corroborated this. Our son showed us several videos of this happening,” said Sewell.
Savoy noted that he initially stated that the bus hadn’t left the bus loop, based on the information he had at the time, though after further review of the video footage, he noted that students continued to be in the aisle after leaving the campus.
He stated that the bus driver initially pulled over in the campus, stood to face the students and directed them to get into a seat, though footage showed that not every student complied.
Buses can hold up to 78 students, when sitting three to a seat, and 52 when sitting two to a seat, said Savoy, though the bus in question had 58 students assigned to it. This is allowable in a middle school setting, since sixth graders can sometimes sit three to a seat. So, the bus had the capacity needed, just not at the appropriate comfort level for middle school students.
“As a standard practice, Hays CISD does not let more students board a bus than there are seats available,” said Savoy. “To accommodate fluctuations in the numbers of students who will be riding buses from day-to-day during the first couple of weeks of school, the district pre-positions back-up buses and drivers around the district to be called into service during morning pick-up for buses that fill up with students prior to completing their to-school routes.”
This is exactly what happened, as the school district immediately added a second bus to the route the following day after receiving reports.
Savoy explained that the beginning of each school year is always a bit of a transition, which the district addresses in its back-to-school emails: “It’ll take a few days for everyone to learn new traffic patterns, for us to level classes based on students who show up to school and for bus schedules to settle into a steady routine. Remember to give each other grace and kindness during this time,” said Superintendent Eric Wright in this year’s letter to parents.
Some parents have questioned whether budget cuts caused these issues; however, Savoy clarified that Transportation funding was not decreased.
“Though no direct budget cuts occurred with Transportation in Hays CISD, it’s likely that the department took a more conservative approach in planning bus routing this year — not having the luxury to build in added, immediate buffer capacity. The district operates as a system, so any budget cuts because of the state school funding situation can have an impact on the whole district,” he said.
Additionally, the number of students riding the bus can rapidly change: “On Aug. 1, 2026, Hays CISD had approximately 9,200 students registered to ride buses for the 2026-2027 school year. By the first day of school, Aug. 13, 2026, that number had risen to 12,414 students registered and riding the bus. On Wednesday, August 26, 2027, approximately 16,600 students were registered for bus service,” explained Savoy.
Despite this, he emphasized that issues and concerns are being addressed as they arise.
“Bus adjustments and leveling happen every school year in almost every school district in Texas during the first couple of weeks of school. Some years are better than others generally, but bus experiences in the first weeks are highly individualized. Even if generally the system is having a good year, that doesn’t mean everyone individually is having a good experience. Conversely, if the school year is off to what feels like a bumpy start, it doesn’t mean everyone has had a bad experience,” concluded Savoy.
For more information on the district’s Transportation Department, visit www.hayscisd.net/page/transportation.
