SBLSD News
August 26, 2022
- Key dates
- School contacts
- Meal prices, free/reduced
- Emergency/safety
- Possible bus delays
- Inclement weather bus routes
- Student and Family Information Guide
- Wellbeing resources
- Skyward Family Access
View the electronic version and 2022-23 key dates.
Looking for back-to-school information?
Visit our website at sumnersd.org/backtoschool for details on:
- Key dates and back-to-school events
- Meal applications and menus
- Health and medical forms
- Safety information
- Registering for athletics
- Transportation and bus routes
The first day of school for grades 1-12 is Tuesday, Sept. 6. The first day of school for kindergarten is Friday, Sept. 9. Main offices for elementary, middle and high schools are now open.
Driver shortage means disruption to bus transportation
Due to a bus driver shortage, it’s highly likely that some bus routes will be affected to some degree on a daily basis. Any given route on any given day could experience a different bus number, earlier or later pick-up/drop-off times, and unfortunately the potential of no bus transportation at all.
Please note these important items that could affect your child:
- Different buses: It’s possible your child will ride two different buses — one bus in the morning and a different one in the afternoon. This means a different bus number and a different bus driver.
- Bus times: Pick-up and drop-off times could vary and may not always align exactly with school start and dismissal times. Because of the need to double-up on bus runs, your child could be picked up earlier or later than when school begins. Another possibility is that your child might need to wait (supervised) at school for a bus to pick them up. As soon as we know if your child’s route is affected, we will send a robocall to families with as much advance notice we can give.
- No transportation: As a last resort, when no bus drivers are available, it’s possible we may not be able to provide bus transportation for some routes on any given day. We encourage families to have a back-up plan with an alternative way to get your child to school. This is a very unfortunate reality that will likely affect routes on a daily basis. If your child is unable to make it to school, it will be an excused absence. Please call your school to confirm that your child will be absent due to no bus service. We will notify affected families as soon as we possibly can. We will continue to provide transportation for special education students who have special transportation in their IEP.
This bus driver shortage also affects:
- Waivers: While a condition of waivers is that District transportation is not provided, we have made exceptions in the past if a bus is not full. This year, however, our buses will be full and we are unable to accommodate students on waivers. Families will need to provide their own transportation to and from school.
- Bus passes: We are unable to allow students to ride a different bus when wanting to, for example, go home with a friend or be dropped off at a grandparent's house.
Bus lookup tool
Families may now use our bus stop lookup tool to view their child’s route for the 2022-23 school year. For questions about your child’s route, please call the Transportation Department at (253) 891-6400.
Are you looking for fun activities this fall?
Check out the 2022 Bonney Lake Fall Recreation Guide for information for sports activities and classes, including: soccer, volleyball, cheer, wrestling, karate, gymnastics, babysitting classes and more. Learn about the Bonney Lake Recreation Program here.
