The Kivalina school bus has not been running for several weeks this fall. As a result, some students are driven to school by their parents, some ride ATVs for 7 miles, and some miss school.
When the Kisimġiugtuq School opened in 2022, the Northwest Arctic Borough School District bought two buses to transport children from the village site to the new school 7 miles inland. Because of weather conditions, as well as mechanical and staffing issues, the bus service has been unreliable since, affecting attendance and causing some families to leave the village.
This year, the buses have not run since Aug. 28, according to the notice on the school’s Facebook page. This time, the service is interrupted because the school district is installing cameras in the busses, the school officials said.
“Due to recent events, we are suspending our bus operations until further notice,” the post said. “We are pursuing the installation of cameras in the bus for the safety of the students and the staff on board.”
When asked about the reasons for installing the cameras, several Kivalina residents said they have been complaining about the careless driving of the sole bus driver and said he hit a piece of equipment while transporting the students.
Kisimġiugtuq School Principal Jeremy Millard deferred all questions to the district office.
Jeff Alexander, assistant to the superintendent at the school district, said he had not heard the complaints about the driver and said the district is installing cameras for “just safety, in general.”
He said the district ordered the cameras and expected them to arrive this week.
While the buses are not in service, Alexander said students are expected to attend school. He said the parents have been bringing their kids to school either using their cars or four-wheelers. Some parents with cars also help other families, he said. Older students sometimes ride ATVs on their own.
“The parents are responsible for getting the kids to the school,” Alexander said. As for the buses, he added, “We just do that as a service.”
Alexander said he didn’t know how many students have been missing school since the bus stopped running.
“I’m sure that attendance has dropped, but I don’t have any statistics,” he said.
Several parents expressed dismay with the situation in comments under the school’s announcement.
Josie Adams, the mother of two children, 6 and 12 years old, said her children have been missing school since the bus stopped running.
“My friend offered to ride them over and back but space (is) limited so it’s not guaranteed for everyday ride,” she said in a Facebook message. “One day I would like to take one of the school employees, members, superintendent or teachers on that long ride, not with a truck, van or bus but on a four-wheeler and see how they handled it.”
Adams said she received a call from the school to remind her that her children have unexcused absences.
“I don’t know how to respond. Unbelievable,” she said. “I’m literally in tears.
“They are trying to cover the fact they have not provided adequate transportation,” she added. “It’s a way of placing blame on residents.”
Unreliable service
Commuting to school — which is also an evacuation site for the village — has been a challenge for two years, since the school’s opening.
In the winter of 2022, the two used buses the district originally purchased were not running consistently because of bad weather and mechanical issues, Millard said at the time. Bus service interruptions significantly affected student attendance, Millard had said. On some days without bus service, fewer than half of students would make it to school, Millard had said. Absences caused by lack of transportation or dangerous weather conditions were excused back then, Millard had said.
In 2023, new buses arrived in Kivalina but the challenges persisted: The school opening was delayed because of the issues with the water system. Students also had to miss classes when the facility was closed during severe storms and find a way to commute when the buses were not running.
Unreliable operations at the school forced some students to leave for other communities.
[Unreliable operations at Kivalina school force some students to leave for other communities]
Since 2022, the school only had one bus driver who has been working a rotational shift, so there has been no bus service during his days off.
“The district has been advertising for over a year for the second one,” without success, Alexander said. “We even contacted the Department of Education trying to get help from them, but evidently, we’re not the only school district that’s looking for bus drivers.”
A bus trip to Kivalina school usually takes about 30 minutes and follows a road that is often battered by storms and sometimes gets washed out or snowed in. Last year, the transportation officials evaluated the cracks in the road and considered minor repairs.
“The road is in good shape,” said Alexander who visited the community this summer.
Kivalina residents said they often spot wildlife in the vicinity of the road, including polar bears and wolves. This month, residents have been reporting bear sightings.
Resident Janet Mitchell shared several videos in which a bear was seen approaching the road.
“The students were waiting by the airport for a ride when one bear went as far as the clinic. Fortunately, it didn’t come within the perimeter of town,” she said. “I can vouch for the dangers right now.”
Alexander said that “the wildlife has not been a factor at all” for their concern.
For Adams, whose children have been missing school since late August, the frustration around the school commute reached a breaking point.
“I’m moving my family to Wasilla,” she said, “so my kids can go to school every day.”