Still trying

I've tired for the past few days to get this up and running but I seem to be having a few "technical difficulties" in the fact that my computer refuses to acknowledge the existence of my blog site. I tried to get some pictures of the kids on and my post completely disappeared and I still have not found it so for now I'll keep experimenting and maybe in the next few months I'll be able to get a more interesting page to view. In other news, I'm still having issues with the Brandon Valley School District transportation department. Both Matthew and Carolyn are provided transportation to and from classes by the district. Usually this is in the form of a van or suburban picking up or dropping off said child at the designated time. For the past two years there have been no problems but this year a new director took over replacing the person who had done this for the past twenty years. I usually get information about pick-up and drop-off times a few days before classes start but this year I didn't know anything until late afternoon the day before Kindergarten started. Even then I was surprised when Matthew was dropped off by a small bus with a different driver instead of the van and driver he was supposed to have. The following week Carolyn was due to start --she is in the afternoon class --and that's when problems really started to happen. The first day her van was late and they never bothered to call and let me know that there was a problem. (AM kid threw a 20 min tantrum at school and would not get in the van) I then was told by the driver that she had driven over to Matt's school to pick him up only to learn that he had already been picked up by the other driver. Early Childhood classes start later and run on a different schedule than the rest of the K-12 classes but I was surprised that transportation had Matthew on the wrong transport list and did not discover the mistake until the next week. Later that day when the driver dropped Carolyn off he pulled up into the driveway and honked the horn. I HATE HATE HATE it when drivers do that. I stepped out on the front porch and he stuck his head out of the widow and told me to come and get Carolyn out of the car (suburban). Pet peeve #2 having to get my child out of the vehicle--that is not my job thank you. The next week a new driver showed up at my door, late again and then proceeded to tell me that she was now taking over this route blah blah blah I really don't care and then tells me that she was late because she went to the other elementary to pick up a kid who was on her sheet but now assigned to a different driver (sound familiar?) yes, once again Matthew was on the wrong pick up sheet but this time thankfully they took him off. Matthew is blessed with two wonderful drivers who have done this route for the past two years so they know him and also are on time. In fact, on Matt's first day of Kindergarten it was his bus driver who walked him to his class and made sure he made it and found out who was going to be meeting him in the mornings. I didn't get that information the night before during open house because the classroom aids weren't required to be there. Carolyn's driver's are another story. Every day it was a wait and see how close to 12:15 the van can arrive. Class starts then and she is supposed to be picked up before 12 according to the information I was given by the transportation department. One wonderful day Carolyn's van was even later than usual. The driver apologised by saying she had a sick child at home and lost track of time. That same afternoon I was at the door waiting for grouchy the bus driver to drop Carolyn off and I waited and waited and waited. Finally at around 3:30--classes are out by 2:55-- I called the transportation department. I was then told that the driver ran out of gas and had problems opening the gas tank. WTF!!!!! No, I did not get any call about this letting me know that my child was going to be late but more importantly why did the vehicle run out of gas in the first place. At this point I'm beyond mad so after Carolyn is home ( no I did not rip the driver a new one) I called Special Services and talked to the secretary and asked her if I should complain to transportation and thankfully she took care of the matter that day. Special Services is the area of the district that is in charge of the Early Education program. The next day I did get a call from the Transportation Department Director and I explained to him my frustrations about the transportation being late and my wanting to be notified about delays. I also explained that I wanted the drivers to not honk when pulling up and to actually get out of the vehicle and help take the child out of the car seat. The next few days after were OK but the next week Carolyn's ride was late and a new van pulled up with a different driver. Thankfully it was the driver Matt has in the morning and one that transported Carolyn last year . I was so happy I almost cried. Of course the pick up driver was always late but at least she showed up. On Monday I talked with Carolyn's teacher and found out they were having problems with the same driver that I was and that the teachers were planning to complain. The next day Transportation called and told me that a new driver would be showing up. So far this has worked out but is has only been a few days. Yesterday, I was waiting for the car to pick Matthew up for his afternoon speech and OT. When the driver did not show up I called and was told that he was on a trip to Brookings and there was supposed to be a sub but of course the dispatcher couldn't get a hold of him. I ended up taking Matthew over myself and I got another apology from Transportation. It's going to be a long year.