CORNELIUS, N.C. — Just days into the school year, one parent with a student in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools district has more concerns about busing challenges.
5-year-old Luke Remissong is starting kindergarten at Lincoln Heights Montessori. It's his second year at the school, and his family loves it.
"It's been a great fit for our family. We're grateful for it," said Luke's mom, Christine Remissong. "To go to a public Montessori school is really a rare gift to have."
However, getting Luke there and back has proven to be a challenge.
Recently, the family was given a card with Luke's bus assignment on it, including his bus stop location and timing. It has the kindergartener getting on board at 6:59 a.m. He wouldn't get home until 5:49 p.m., despite the school's schedule being from 9:15 a.m. through 4:15 p.m.
"He was not that potty trained, right? Like. he's normal, but he certainly is not going to be able to take a two-hour car ride multiple times a day," Remissong said.
It's about the same timing they were offered last year when he was in Pre-K. That's why they've decided to drive Luke themselves.
"That's an incredibly long day for anyone, let alone a 4-year-old, a 5-year-old," Remissong said.
The family lives in Cornelius. That means the drive to Lincoln Heights Montessori could be anywhere from 25 minutes to up to 40 minutes, all depending on the traffic.
"We live in our zone. It's not like we're trying to do something unusual," Remissong said. "We're in the zone, and we're still seeing four hours almost round-trip, and - probably realistically - four hours if there's a delay of any sort."
Next week, they will start a carpool with another local family also facing the same issue. Though she would like to apply for a consolidated stop with more families, Remissong said there is no formal way to find them. However, she hasn't lost hope for a solution.
"We know that nobody's a bad actor here," Remissong said. "There's just not enough drivers, and there's only so much you can do on the parent side. And if there's no funds to hire more drivers or pay better wages, there's not a lot that can be done. But maybe we can come up with some solutions."
WCNC Charlotte reached out to CMS for comment, but a spokesperson wasn't immediately available.
Contact Julie Kay at juliekay@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.