Their kids spend nearly 4 hours a day on school bus. SLO County parents want change
Carrisa Plains Elementary School families are hoping to get a new teacher in their remote schoolhouse to help middle school students avoid long and exhausting bus rides to and from Atascadero each day.
Located in California Valley, Carrisa Plains serves students up to fifth grade, but it sits about 46 miles away from the district’s middle school — meaning students in sixth grade and up have to travel on the bus over an hour in each direction every day.
That travel time can be grueling for students who are already dealing with homework, extracurricular activities and life changes, parents say.
So, a group of families approached the school board Tuesday night asking for change.
They want the district to hire a third teacher at the school, bringing 6th through 8th grade students back to their local campus.
“I can tell you that these days it’s not good for their mental health,” said one district mom, holding back tears as she spoke to the board. “I have two that are in and out of therapy and it’s just a lot on them, it’s a lot of hours.”
Middle schoolers travel nearly 4 hours a day, families say
Patty Hermosillo has a grandson in fifth grade at Carrisa Plains.
After speaking with other parents about their kids’ experiences riding the bus for nearly four hours every day, Hermosillo told The Tribune she doesn’t want to put her grandson through that.
“What I’m hearing from parents are their kids are exhausted and depressed,” Hermosillo said. “They would have to be gone from home 55 hours a week.”
To make it work, many kids are waking up around 5 a.m. to eat breakfast, get dressed and make it to the bus on time — and then they don’t get home until around 5 p.m. By the time they’re done with dinner and homework, it’s time to go to bed.
“It doesn’t matter how old they are,” she added. “That long on a bus, you know, life sucks. Getting home that late every day, life sucks.”
So, Hermosillo decided to take a stand.
She and a group of families spoke before the Atascadero school board Tuesday night, asking the district to hire a third teacher at Carrisa Plains to teach their middle school students.
McKinley Twisselman, a current fourth grader at Carrisa Plains, told the board she doesn’t want to ride the bus when it’s time for her to enter middle school in 2026.
“One of the reasons I don’t want to ride the bus is because I get carsick,” she said. “I don’t want to go to school in town because I have other extracurricular commitments that require my time and attention like junior rodeo and raising a market hog for 4-H.”
She added that participating in extracurricular activities helps with self-esteem and mental health.
“I’d love to continue growing and learning in this little rural community I call home,” she said. “Please consider hiring a sixth through eighth grade teacher so I can.”
Adriane Twisselman, mom to McKinley, also spoke before the board.
She said her two daughters are “thriving socially and academically” at their school, but she worries the bussing schedule will negatively impact them when the time comes.
“We love our little school, but we believe wholeheartedly that we deserve equal opportunity education out there for the additional grades,” she said.
She added that if the board can’t hire another teacher, maybe they could settle on an alternative virtual schooling option.
After the parents addressed the board, superintendent Tom Butler thanked them for their input and indicated the district could discuss some options.
“I’ll reach out to the parents on behalf of the district and have some dialogue around their request for a middle school,” he said.
This story was originally published April 3, 2025 at 12:47 PM.
.JPG)