Northwest ISD families,

In our second week into the 2023-2024 school year, we have had a very positive start and I continue to be thrilled with the great learning experiences taking place in our schools. As with any school year, however, we also have challenges to work through, especially those challenges related to our fast growth. I’d like to share with you some issues we are responding to regarding district-provided transportation.

Each year, Northwest ISD adds hundreds of new students to bus routes before and after the start of school. Since Monday, August 21, we’ve added an unprecedented 2,000 new students to routes from either new enrollment or changes in transportation preferences. Our transportation team is working diligently to add all of these students while minimizing disruptions to current routes. Simultaneously, like many districts in Texas and across the country, we continue to recruit additional bus drivers.

We have heard from our families regarding buses not meeting their designated times, and we’re working to rectify these issues while simultaneously adding new students to routes or creating new routes entirely. Unexpected traffic delays have also played a role in delays and caused us to adjust route times. Although we are working through the increased volume of calls to transportation, please know we do listen to all these concerns, and we truly appreciate your feedback.

Beginning Monday, we will temporarily staff a transportation “call center” (817-698-1287) to assist with transportation questions, track requests and concerns, and provide families with more timely responses. We will continue to do all we can to make these routing adjustments quickly and settle into our bussing patterns. Please know enrollment has already exceeded our annual projection for this year, and we may need to continue to add and adjust routes beyond the first few weeks of the school year.  Also, based on these unprecedented experiences, we intend to make the “call center” a new feature of customer service for the beginning of each school year in the future.

Again, thank you for your continued support of our students, our teachers and our schools. The partnership you provide is a vital component of what makes Northwest ISD great, and your feedback is always welcome.

Sincerely,

Mark Foust, Ed.D.

Superintendent, Northwest ISD