SAN ANTONIO – The first day of school Monday for some students in the South San Antonio Independent School District was not the smoothest of beginnings.
Students and parents were forced to cross the intersection of Highway 16 and Patron to get to Zamora Middle School without a crossing guard or a traffic officer to accompany them.
Also, one parent reported a bus meant as a substitute to crossing the six-lane highway never showed up.
South San officials announced late last week that children would be bused across Highway 16 for safety reasons after parents aired concerns about their children having to cross the highway.
Related: South San ISD to provide transportation so students won't have to walk across highway
But not all families were able to take the bus.
Sixth grader Joanna Navarro was one of the students affected. Her stepfather, David Gruszka, said he called the South San ISD Transportation Office last week and was told their home at Somerset Road and Fairmeadows Street, one and a half miles away from Zamora, was too far to catch the buses that are now taking kids across Highway 16.
Their VIA stop was on the wrong side, so they were forced to cross at Patron with no help.
"It was dangerous, definitely dangerous," Gruszka said.
"The kids need a cop there, or some safety, for them to cross," Joanna said.
District officials said the family could have caught a bus ride Monday morning, but was likely given the wrong information.
The new routes were only finalized late Friday afternoon.
Related: South San ISD begins school year Monday amid closures
"I think they should have done it a little sooner than that. They should have had this settled a little sooner than that," said Monica Rivas, whose first- and third-graders will eventually go to Zamora. "I think they should have kept up with it. They should have figured out what they were going to do as soon as they found out they were closing Kazen."
Another parent emailed KSAT 12, saying she took her child to the stop serving her neighborhood between Wainwright and Vincent in order to avoid the intersection. Arriving ten minutes early, she says her child's 7:30 am bus never showed, and by 7:50 made the decision to drive her child to Zamora.
The district responds in a statement they had a "handful of students who made the bus from that stop," and hope if there was any confusion it "will all be ironed out by the second day of school."
The bus snafu is just another bump in the road for the district.
Nearby Kazen Middle School was one of three campuses shuttered this year to save money due to low enrollment. The students are now going to Zamora, a decision that worried parents about their children's new commute.
District officials told KSAT 12 last week that there would be both a crossing guard and traffic officer at the intersection of Highway 16 and Patron.
In an earlier statement, a district spokeswoman said students also had the option of using a sky bridge to get over the highway, but some parents said it's too far a walk to the middle school.
The spokeswoman also said the superintendent himself would test the crossing and bring his findings to the school board.
But the district reversed its position and the superintendent decided busing nearby students to Zamora is the "best and safest solution" to crossing the intersection.
Buses picked up students Monday morning on Annarose Lane, Lawley Street and at three locations on Fairmeadows Street.
South San officials said they didn't have guards at the intersection Monday because of the buses they offered.
"(The) safety of students is our number one priority, and we posted news about the additional bus routes on our district website, social media pages, as well as in interviews with local news outlets," the district said in a statement. "We had a handful of students who made the bus from that stop. If there was any confusion today, we hope they will all be ironed out by the second day of school."
The crossing at Highway 16 will be on Tuesday's school board meeting agenda, which starts at 6:15 p.m. at 5622 Ray Ellison Blvd.
