‘I thought the worst’: Miscommunication blamed after Rockford children dropped miles from home by school bus

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — A Rockford mother is seeking answers after her children were dropped off miles from home by the Rockford Public Schools’ bus system this week.

Mahogani Jackson, a single mother, reported that her oldest son was dropped off nearly five miles from their home on Monday, followed by a similar incident with her youngest son the next day.

“I’m a single mother, so I’m always with my boys. I have all boys. So to see one of my kids not get off that bus, I immediately thought the worst,” Jackson said.

Jackson discovered the second incident through Facebook, which heightened her concerns about the safety protocols in place.

The Rockford Public Schools district has a tool called the Stop-Finder app, intended to ensure students are placed on the correct buses, but the app did not prevent the mistakes in Jackson’s case.

In a statement to Eyewitness News, the district attributed the errors to a miscommunication between a newer bus driver and a substitute teacher, saying, “Rockford Public Schools’ Transportation Department has identified the issue and apologizes for the misunderstanding and miscommunication involving one of our new bus drivers and two substitute teachers at Ellis Elementary School. We have addressed the situation and implemented a solution to help ensure this does not happen again.”

Jackson expressed dissatisfaction with the explanation provided by the school district, questioning the effectiveness of their safety protocols.

“I don’t think that is very assuring to me or any other parent. If you don’t have drivers that are following those safety protocols, because yeah, we have the app and it’s a good tool, but if the other end is not using it, what good is it to us?” she said.

The district has reportedly implemented a new system to prevent similar occurrences in the future, though details of this system were not disclosed.

Despite these assurances, Jackson is considering other options for her children’s transportation.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WTVO. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WTVO staff before being published.