An apology from Superintendent David Engstrom

Dear Robbinsdale Area Schools family:

With humility, I apologize for the serious transportation issues that are affecting some of our students, families and schools this week.

We continue to take every step we can to remedy the situation, and unfortunately right now I can’t promise to make everything right in the coming days. But we are working as diligently as we can to resolve the issues. 

I recognize that when it comes to your children, it doesn’t really matter to you why this happened. What matters is that more than 8,000 families depend on us to safely and reliably get their students to and from school. And this week, we have disappointed the families of almost 1,500 students who didn’t have buses to transport them, and all the others who experienced late buses. This issue impacted every school in the district. 

I am deeply sorry for this, and for the stress you may have experienced as a result.

It will take more time to work things out, but I assure you, we are closer than we were a day ago. It’s just the second day of school and delays or missing buses are still an issue, and that’s simply not the level of service we want to provide to our families. 

Thank you to the families who have carpooled, driven their students to and from school, had to take time away from their jobs or other responsibilities, or had to rely on others to help. We appreciate you.

We will continue to update the families who are impacted by the bus driver shortage as often as needed. If your family has been affected, you can expect a letter tomorrow with more specific information. 

I ask for your patience as we continue to resolve our transportation problems.

Sincerely,
 

David Engstrom
Superintendent