School bus stops open again for students after Manatee lifts evacuation order
The Manatee County School District has announced a return to normal bus routes after the county’s public safety officials on Tuesday lifted their evacuation orders for residents living near Piney Point.
About 155 students live in the evacuation zone, where more than half a dozen bus routes were interrupted by the possible collapse of a 300-million-gallon retention pond at Piney Point, an abandoned phosphate processing plant near the students’ homes.
Families with students at the affected schools received a robocall Sunday with a Connect-Ed message notifying them of the suspension.
“Parents, please note that bus transportation inside the Piney Point Evacuation Zone has been suspended for the duration of the evacuation. If you are receiving this call, that means your school has at least one bus stop in the evacuation zone,” the message said.
Days later, as dozens of pumps and vacuum trucks worked to lower the water level in Piney Point’s largest pond, the situation improved enough for families to reinhabit the former evacuation zone.
Mike Barber, the spokesman for Manatee County schools, said normal bus routes would resume on Wednesday morning. For families who had yet to return home, the district was arranging bus stops that were closer to the students’ temporary locations, he continued, relaying information from Transportation Director Gary Sawyer.
Of the approximately 155 students who live in the evacuation zone, 86 were bus riders. About 30 of those students attend Palmetto High School and the vast majority were in school on Tuesday morning, when the bus suspension and the evacuation zone still remained.
Attendance was lower on Monday, when about half of the Palmetto High students missed school, according to Barber’s prepared statement. Each of the students received an excused absence, he noted.
About 16 other students attend Tillman Elementary School and most were in their classrooms on Tuesday.
“I know they are all glad to be returning to a semblance of normalcy,” Barber said on Tuesday afternoon.
Before the evacuation was lifted, the following school bus routes were affected:
Palmetto High School
- Bus 1035
- 2405 113th St. E.
- 11209 Bud Rhoden Road
- 105th Street East & 31st Street East
- Bud Rhoden Road & 100th Court East
- 34th Dr. E. & Moccasin Wallow Road
- Moccasin Wallow Road & 27th Avenue East
- Bus 1061
- Artisan Lakes Parkway & Mabry Drive (potentially)
Palmetto Elementary School
- Bus 1068
- 10301 Bud Rhoden Road
Palm View K-8
- Bus 1061
- Reeder Road & Piney Point Road
Harvey Elementary School
- Bus 1048
- 100 Court East & Bud Rhoden Road
Tillman Elementary School
- Bus 651
- Moccasin Wallow Road & 34th Drive East
- Moccasin Wallow Road & 27th Avenue East
- 2405 113th Street East
- 10351 Bud Rhoden
Buffalo Creek Middle School
- Bus 1036
- Moccasin Wallow Road & 28th Avenue East
Lincoln Memorial
- Bus 574
- Moccasin Wallow Road & 27th Avenue East
This story was originally published April 5, 2021 at 8:44 AM.
