SAN ANTONIO — Lucy Kerley remembers having to take a VIA Metropolitan Transit bus to campus back when she attended San Antonio Independent School District’s Highlands High School .
“Back in our days, the yellow buses were only used for field trips, so we had VIA, and we used VIA cards,” Kerley said. “So I took two buses to get to school.”
She said a lot has changed at SAISD since those days. She would know. Kerley spent the last three decades working at transportation departments in multiple school districts and is now back at the district she once attended.
“I’ve been giving myself and my professionalism to other students in Central Texas. Why not come home, give the same dedication and professionalism to our students here?” Kerley said.
She became SAISD’s director of transportation during a critical time. The department was still adjusting to the 15 school closures approved by district leaders in November 2023.
“I know it shared a little burden for a lot of families,” Kerley said.
The shuttered schools became bus stops for students. Spectrum News 1 documented the changes last year.
In neighborhoods where many of the families rely on the buses, the new bus stops caused confusion and frustration, leaving some students guessing which bus was there because the stop was home to four schools.
“Because of security and safety purposes, we removed the bus stops from there (closed schools) and we actually placed those bus stops in the neighborhoods,” Kerley said. “So parents have the safety of knowing where their students are.”
The district now also takes the weather more into consideration.
Kerley says they’re doing more to protect elderly guardians and younger students from South Texas temperatures. She says transportation is working alongside the enrollment department to create a bus rider roster list.
“That’s going to keep kids safe, so they are not getting on the wrong buses or they are not lost. The drivers know who they are, the principals and teachers know what buses they ride,” Kerley said.
Kerley says she’s adjusting to the needs of the families, whose shoes she was once in.
“I’m about making sure that each ride these students have, are safe. They are our priority, but yet it will impact their success of their education,” Kerley said.