SISD working on new bus tracking system after 6 students were dropped off at wrong locations

EL PASO, Texas -- The superintendent of the Socorro Independent School District is speaking out after multiple students were dropped off at wrong locations.

Superintendent Nate Carman admitted to ABC-7 that six students were accidentally dropped off at the wrong location.

He said the incidents happened in the first four days of school.

On Thursday, ABC-7 spoke with the parents of 7-year-old SISD student who said their daughter was dropped off at the wrong bus stop. The girl's father found her more than two hours later after he went to the bus yard asking drivers if they had seen her. The girl was found waiting inside a trailer park nearby.

Carman said the incidents were based on technical errors. He said this problem has been happening for years.

He said the district was able to recover quickly and students were reconnected with their parents.

But Carman said even one incident is "unacceptable." He said the district is now investigating.

He said there are bus rosters at each campus and in buses to ensure students get on the correct bus.

In changing some routes some students were still part of the old system, resulting in students going to the wrong location.

"We don't place the blame on the student all. We recognize it was a routing system error," Carman said.

Additionally, the district has been reviewing some procedures and protocols.

"We are reviewing those procedures and protocols. Currently, if it is first grade and below there has to be an adult at the drop-off locations to receive that child. We are reviewing whether that is appropriate or not or if we need to increase it to second grade or possibly third grade."

The district will be implementing a new system.

"We are preparing to transition to a new routing service/system that we hope will alleviate this regularly, so this doesn’t happen again. Finally, we are reviewing a component of the system where our students not just use a paper/pencil, but they are actually going to scan their IDs so we know when the students gets on and when they get off," he said.

Officials said the new tracking system will be able to find the student quicker if they are lost.

Carman assures the situation has been fixed and says students will now go to their correct drop-offs.