It is six-forty in the morning at Woodland Regional High School. Very few teachers can be found in the building, yet, several buses pull up and students begin pouring in. The halls fill up quickly. Over 600 students in the building and there is still thirty-five minutes before the school day begins.

For fourteen years, Woodland has requested that buses arrive at Woodland at or after seven o’ clock each morning to ensure accurate supervision and safety for all students. The bus company, All Star Transportation, has either been unwilling or unable to meet this need and has been dropping students off ten or twenty minutes before seven o’clock.

Principal Kurt Ogren noted that this is a concern for the school because the building is not supervised enough until seven o’ clock in the morning. Teachers, by contract, are not required to be present until seven-twenty.

“We don’t have enough supervision so it’s a potential safety issue,” said Ogren.

Ogren explains how the superintendent has specified to the bus company that arriving a few minutes early is okay. Twenty minutes, on the other hand, is not.

Assistant Principal Dr. Dana Mulligan, feels as though she would like to see the buses arrive later. She explains that it would be beneficial for students to wake up later in the morning and that at certain times of the year it would even be lighter outside at that time.

If the buses arrived later, students would only have about ten or fifteen minutes before the first bell.

“Most students are here in the building thirty-five minutes before the school day starts,” said Mulligan.

Mulligan knows the bus company has expressed an issue with not being able to pick up the elementary and middle school kids on time.

Ogren hopes to make sure that they are all on the same page with how things are handled.

Ogren will meet with superintendent, Michael Yamin and the owner of the bus company tomorrow, March 26 to discuss this issue.