BUTTE — Well, it’s that time of year again, and parents can probably hear the moans and groans as they read these words. But, before you head out to buy school supplies and brand new clothes, you’re going to need to sign up for the bus if you need a ride to school in the morning in the Mining City.
"Almost 50 percent of the East school actually rides, so that’s a huge amount of people," says Kelsey Chase with the Butte School District No.1 transportation department.
Chase is part of the team at Butte School District No. 1 working to get about 1600 kids to and from school safely on school buses and she says part of keeping kids safe rests in their parents' hands with the use of a simple app that tracks the daily school bus commute.
"Here Comes the Bus is an android or iOS device app that actually allows parents to track the bus real-time and also receive scan alerts that their kid is on and off the bus," says Chase.
Chase says the main reason the school district asks parents to download the app is for open communication.
"Why we really encourage parents to download the app is because we use that app to communicate to you," says Chase.
One big function of the app: peace of mind.
"This helps parents know whether they’ve missed, if it’s on the way, is their kid home safe? Lots of peace of mind for the parents so that they know what’s going on with their kids when they can’t exactly keep an eye on them," says Chase.
And the app lets parents set a radius alert to see when the bus will be at the stop which can be helpful in the morning when trying to rally kids.
"Especially in the morning having that peace of mind. Especially when your kids are not cooperating with you, you can check on the bus and see how much more time you have to get them out there," says Chase.
So the clock is ticking for bus sign-ups.
If your child needs a ride to school, you will need to sign up by Friday, Aug. 11 on the Butte School District No. 1 website. Otherwise, you will have to wait until September when a second sign-up takes place.
