MONROE COUNTY, Tenn. — Parents of students in Monroe County are outraged with the lack of bus service in their school district. They say this is the second year in a row without having buses come to take their kids to school.
Parents say they are also outraged by a lack of communication and transparency from the Monroe County School District.
"I have reached out over 20 times and left over 20 messages — not one call back," said Faith Rudder, a parent. "That is the sentiment across Facebook. Many many parents have said exactly the same thing that I am."
One grandparent, Marde Soutullo, has started driving her grandchildren to school in her "grandma bus."
"It's a hardship when parents both work," Soutullo said. "If they don't have a grandma, or a grandpa, or aunts and uncles or neighbors."
Rudder said last year she had to also take her three kids to high school and middle school every day. The bus used to come to pick them up.
"I bus the kids back and forth every day, five days a week," Rudder said. "I had to take my lunch break half in the morning, half in the afternoon. My bosses luckily were really really kind about it but they weren't happy."
10News reached out to Monroe County Schools several times through email and by phone and also went to their office in person on Friday. They did not respond to requests for comment.
They released a list of bus routes that will run starting Aug. 7 on social media, available in an image below.
