LPSS students sitting on floor of overcrowded school bus, mother speaks out
LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY)- A Lafayette parish woman says her kids have been riding in an overcrowded school bus.
Heather Goodrum, whose children ride that bus, says her son came home crying one day telling her the bus was too full and kids were pushing and shoving to try and find a spot.
That’s when Goodrum told her son to record video of what the bus looked like next time he was on it.
In it, you can see a child sitting on another child’s lap, and then two children sitting on the floor of the bus.
Goodrum says when she saw the video, it broke her heart, but it made her want to take action immediately.
“Honestly, I started crying. And he started crying. And I was like yeah it’s time to do something about it,” she said. “I mean, every mother worries because we’re leaving our sons and children in, you know, Lafayette Parish school board’s hands and we’re trusting them.”
She says seeing the kids piled up like they were makes her concerned for her child’s safety and health. “My son has epilepsy. Let’s just say if he’s on his seat, or if he’s on the floor and his head gets bumped, that’s not good.”
Goodrum says this isn’t the first time she’s had issues with Lafayette Parish School District’s transportation– but she hopes that by shedding light on the problem, it will be resolved.
“I hope we can make a difference, not only for our school, but if it’s happening on our buses, then it’s happening at other schools, on their buses, on their routes,” she said. “And hopefully the school board will take this seriously and actually do something about it.”
News 10 reached out to LPSS. Administrators said soon as they heard about the issue, they added another bus to that route.