Getting thousands of children to school every day is no small task. With the start of the new school year less than two weeks away, Oak Harbor School District’s transportation department is gearing up to get the buses moving, in what the director describes as an improved manner.

But, improvement also means changes, and parents should be aware of differences in schedules over last year. The best way to do that, says Vonnie Edwards, transportation director for the school district, is to check out route maps and scheduling information that will be posted at all schools by the end of the week.

One necessary change, Edwards said, is an adjustment of beginning and ending times at elementary schools. In an attempt to eliminate the complex bus transfer system that had been used in previous years, the transportation department needed to stagger the daily schedule.

“My biggest push this year was to eliminate the transfers,” Edwards said Thursday.

While it is her goal to eliminate all transfers this year, Edwards said she might not be able to achieve that in just one year. The transfer system, she said, evolved over a 15-year period, and it might take a while to get rid of it entirely.

Crescent Harbor, Clover Valley and Hillcrest elementary schools will begin class at 8:55 a.m. and will dismiss for the day at 3:15 p.m. Olympic View and Oak Harbor elementary schools will start at 9:25 a.m. and dismiss at 3:45 p.m. Broad View Elementary students attending school at other elementary school sites will attend classes with the same schedule as those particular sites.

While the changes in the beginning and ending times of the school day may take some getting used to, Edwards said the staggered times were necessary in order to transport students more directly to and from school, using available resources.

Previously, students on certain routes with a lot of transfers were on buses for more than an hour at a time. Edwards, the school district, school board members and even some parents found the transfer system to be inconvenient, ineffective and in some cases, risky.

“In my heart I know the best thing for a kid is to get out of the house, get on a bus and go to school, and then to get out of school, get on a bus and go home,” Edwards said.

While trying to eliminate the bus transfer system, Edwards also faced the challenge of finding ways to transport about 400 Broad View Elementary School students that previously walked to school at the permanent Broad View site.

While that school undergoes a remodel this year, the student body will be dispersed throughout the district’s other elementary schools. Students in the Broad View neighborhood now require bus transportation if they live more than one mile away from the site where they will be attending school.

Maps and bus schedules will be posted at every school building on Thursday, Aug. 29, Edwards said. The maps will show bus stops and times the buses will arrive at those stops, and the number of the bus assigned to each stop. Parents should select the bus stop closest to their residence, Edwards said.

Additionally, buses will have color-coded cards in the window to make identification of the correct bus easier for younger children.

Edwards said that parents could also ask school office secretaries to look up the closest bus stop to a child’s home address.

“We’re all here to serve,” Edwards said.

Elementary school schedules:

Crescent Harbor Elementary, Clover Valley Elementary and Hillcrest Elementary begin the school day at 8:55 a.m. and dismiss at 3:15 p.m.

Olympic View Elementary and Oak Harbor Elementary start at 9:25 a.m. and dismiss at 3:45 p.m.

Broad View elementary students will attend at the same times as the individual sites where they will attend class.

Parents needing before- and after-school care may contact the SAFE program through Oak Harbor School District.

Where’s the bus stop?

School bus route maps and schedules will be posted at all Oak Harbor school buildings Thursday, Aug. 29.