STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. – Stafford County Public Schools says its bus system ran smoothly on the first regular day of the 2025–26 school year, Tuesday, August 12, 2025, with only minor delays typical of the first week back.
“Overall things are going very well — we are hearing from our principals and our community that they are happy with transportation this year,” said school spokeswoman Sandra Osborn.
Osborn said all 23 bus routes serving Dixon-Smith Middle School — 21 mainstream and two special needs — had assigned drivers and ran on Monday. Six runs were about 30 minutes behind schedule, a delay she described as normal during the opening week as students learn where, when, and how to board their buses.
In Aquia Harbor, one elementary bus arriving from an annex high school route was about 30 minutes late, dropping students at 8:37 a.m. That bus ran on time the next day.
Afternoon runs finished earlier than in the past two years, Osborn said, with all buses back by 6:09 p.m. She credited new operational efficiencies, including 18 relief drivers assigned to middle schools and a relief bus for early childhood centers. Both were deployed on Monday to help maintain schedules.
Osborn said she expects travel times to improve over the coming week as routines settle and that no significant issues are anticipated.
The first day’s performance marks a significant turnaround from the 2024–25 school year, when transportation problems left nearly 3,000 students without rides to school on opening day.
This year’s improvements come under new leadership. Executive Director of Transportation John Wilcots took over in March 2025, and Superintendent Daniel W. Smith — in his first full year after joining the division in December 2024 — pledged to rebuild public trust in the system.
Key changes implemented ahead of this school year include:
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Two-tier elementary schedule: Buses serve two schools in succession, reducing layovers and increasing efficiency.
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Opt-in transportation system: Parents must confirm if their child needs bus service, reducing unnecessary stops and ensuring fuller buses.
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Earlier route release: Bus schedules were distributed to families and drivers by July 28–29 — the earliest on record — allowing for test runs before the school year began.
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Full staffing: The division operates 318 buses with 262 full-time contracted drivers; 15 new hires brought staffing to full strength.
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Route numbers: For the first time, each bus carries a four-digit route number displayed on both sides, integrated with the MyRide K–12 tracking app.
Superintendent Smith said before the school year began that “the system is ready to successfully take children to and from schools… more prepared than we’ve ever been.”
