State - Detroit Late school bus keeps Robert Bobb waiting

DETROIT (AP) -- Some Detroit students and the district's emergency financial manager got a later start to the school year than anticipated when their bus arrived about 25 minutes after the scheduled time on the first day back to class. Robert Bobb joined a group of parents and their children about 7:15 a.m. Tuesday at McDougall and Mitchell on the city's east side for the morning ride to Spain Elementary. But the bus didn't show. It also wasn't there at 7:20 a.m., nor at 7:30 a.m. Finally, the bus arrived and Bobb and the students were off about 7:40 a.m. In a shrinking district using all means to persuade many skeptical parents to keep their children in Detroit Schools -- and convince others to return them -- there is little room for error. "Mr. Bobb was highly concerned," district spokesman Steve Wasko told The Associated Press. "The entire bus fleet made a trial run last week. That was, frankly, a stop that was a few minutes from the terminal." Bus service was outsourced this year for more than 22,300 students. The company operating the tardy bus, First Student, Inc., is one of two new transportation providers. By outsourcing, the district expects to save $49 million over five years. "The driver said there as a mix-up at the terminal," Wasko said. "The transportation supervisor said there was a mix-up with the keys. In our opinion, that was totally unacceptable. Every key should have been marked." The district has set an enrollment target this fall of 77,314 students, which is more than a thousand fewer than attended Detroit schools last spring. The troubled district also faces a budget deficit of $363 million. Over the past two years the district has used an enrollment and student retention marketing campaign. Improved and more stringent academics; and safer, more reliable transportation were part of this summer's sales pitch. Parents who had left the district for charter schools in Detroit and education outside the city were targeted. At least one parent decided Detroit Schools were a better option and enrolled her sixth grader Tuesday morning at Spain, Wasko said. They were waiting at a charter school bus stop not far from where Bobb and the Spain students were standing. "The charter school bus never came," Wasko said. Published: Wed, Sep 8, 2010

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