NORTHWEST : CYPRESS : Hard Lessons From First Day of School

On the first day of classes, schools try to ease confusion and not create it.

The Cypress Elementary School District this week presented a report outlining problems encountered Sept. 8 when 3,940 students showed up to start the new school year.

Bus drivers faced the most confusion, according to the report.

One child was reported missing when he wasn’t brought home by the bus.

Terrance Scott, director of Facilities and Operations, said the parents of the young student failed to notify officials that they wanted their son driven home. He had been taken instead to a nearby child-care center, where he was found and returned to his home by 4:45 p.m.

Another bus driver was left waiting at one school for a few children who were supposed to be bused to another school because of overcrowding in that school. But the students never showed up for their ride because school officials decided to let them stay, Scott said.

A teacher, who was responsible for escorting students to their classrooms from the bus, was five minutes late, delaying the busing schedule. Other delays were made when schools did not release their students on time.

Scott refused to identify the schools involved but said confusion was typical for a first day of school. “There were some problems,” he said. “But, they were handled. They weren’t that unusual.”

In the schools’ kitchens, the report said, things didn’t run as smoothly as had been expected.

Two garbage disposals needed repairs, someone forgot to turn the water heater on, one steam table pilot light would not light and a refrigerator needed a new compressor at Arnold Elementary School.

King Elementary School’s kitchen experienced similar problems. Its electricity went out and long extension cords had to be used, and the gas company was called in to make repairs on an oven that quit working.

Other school operations functioned smoothly and the first-day-of-school problems were expected to be corrected by this week, district officials said.