Dorchester 2 has higher percentage of bus riders than Charleston, but Charleston has more riders

LATEST NEWS as of 12:38 p.m.:

The Post and Courier requested information from Charleston and Dorchester 2 school officials last week to look at how a potential strike could affect different schools. Information from Charleston was available and published last Friday. Here’s the comparison information for Dorchester 2, which has 22 schools.

In Dorchester, 60.2 percent of its 23,670 students ride the bus. That’s a higher percentage than the 56 percent of Charleston’s 45,998 students who ride the bus, but Charleston still has a larger number of bus riders with 25,777.

The top 5 schools with the highest percentage of bus riders in Dorchester 2

River Oaks Middle 82 percent

DuBose Middle 81.4 percentGregg Middle 76.4 percent

Ashley Ridge High 68.5 percent

Knightsville Elementary 67.4 percent

The top 5 schools with the biggest number of bus riders in Dorchester 2

Ashley Ridge High 1,377 students

Summerville High 1,365 students

Fort Dorchester High 1,117 students

DuBose Middle 846 students

River Oaks Middle 829 students

The top 5 schools with the smallest percentage of bus riders in Dorchester 2

Alston Middle 38.3 percent

Pye Elementary 40.8 percent

Newington Elementary 41.9 percent

Rollings Middle School 47.7 percent

Summerville High 49.2 percent

TODAY’S STORY

Negotiations between the company employing school bus drivers and the union representing them resume today and are scheduled through Wednesday.

Durham School Services and Teamsters Local 509 wrapped up three days of talks last week on a new contract on a hopeful note, and the union has promised not to strike in schools while those discussion are ongoing.

School buses in Charleston and Dorchester 2 are running their regular morning and afternoon routes today.

Little new information was released by any of the involved parties during the weekend.

The union and Durham have been working on a new employment contract since July, and drivers’ pay appears to be one of the biggest issues.

The Post and Courier will keep tabs on this situation and publish any new information as soon as it’s available.

The following are resources for any developments:

On Twitter
Follow @Diette or @postandcourier for the latest updates provided to media.

Follow @ccsdconnects for information from Charleston County schools and follow @dorchester_two for news from Dorchester 2 schools.

The community hashtag for the potential driver strike is #chsbus.

On Facebook
Check www.facebook.com/diettecourrege and www.facebook.com/thepostandcourier for news updates.

Follow Charleston County School District at www.facebook.com/CCSDconnects.

Follow Dorchester 2 at www.facebook.com/DorchesterSchoolDistrictTwo.

Key phone numbers and sources of help for parents who are worried:
Parents have been encouraged to make alternative transportation plans for their children in case a strike is called. For information on CARTA routes, call: (843) 745-4101.

Some parents have started organizing carpools and rideshares in case a strike is called. For more information or to sign up, go to: www.ccsdparents.com.

The Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments also has a free online resource, Trident Rideshare at tridentrideshare.com, that Charleston and Dorchester 2 parents can use to find carpools. Parents who don’t have access to a computer can call: (843) 529-0400 extension 202 for more information.

Individual schools have been asked to come up with specific plans for their students in case a strike is called. For more information, call your child’s school.

School district officials are communicating the latest information they have through the media and phone calls to parents. If parents aren’t receiving those messages, call your child’s school and ensure your information is updated.

Check back later for the latest updates.