Where's my kid? Late school bus drop-off panic!



SEATTLE -- Some parents got a scare Wednesday afternoon when a school bus from West Woodland Elementary was delayed for about two hours in dropping their kids off.

Parent Kristyn Wagoner said police were called and were on scene at the Ballard Community Center pickup point when the bus finally appeared.

She was told the driver did not know his bus number so when dispatch was calling for him to pick up, he thought they were calling someone else.

She said she was the person who got on the bus and accompanied the last child home.  In fact, she said, the driver thought everyone was off until she pointed out there was one kid left.

Eventually, the driver went back over the route and hit the stops he missed, dropping off some kids very late.

Theresa Whipple, a spokeswoman for the Seattle School District, said she was informed the bus driver was new to the route.  When he received his list of students, it was different than his previous list, with more students, and the route was expanded, she said.

She confirmed that the police were called and there was a communication breakdown.

She said the goal for the second day of school on Thursday s to make sure every student get dropped off on time.