REDMOND -- Khris Schaffner says it was mother's intuition. She had a feeling her daughter's bus wouldn’t make it on time Monday morning.
And she's not alone. Sixth-grader Harley Brown says her bus was late, too.
Her mother is just one of many who are concerned about how the Lake Washington School District is getting their kids to school.
"We have this expectation that our kids are going to be safely transported," said Kim Estes.
The district says overcrowding on buses is an issue they're working through. Since the start of the school year, they've lost 10 bus drivers and they're still working to replace them.
Monday night, parents made their concerns clear to the school board.
"This is obviously a staffing issue that they are faced with. I feel sorry that's hard, but it still doesn't change the fact that we have kids right now that are left behind at bus stops because the buses are too full.
"When a bus is at capacity, the district says the driver radioes back to request another bus to pick up the overflow of students.
"They're sitting on the aisle or the bus driver is getting really mean and yelling at them 'three to a seat' and I don't know if three really fit in a seat," says Schaffner.
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Overcrowded buses in Lake Washington School District
Q13 FOX NEWS
The district says their buses hold 71 to 77 riders per bus. Three kids are expected to fit per seat and it's up to the bus driver's discretion to make adjustments. At no time are children allowed to sit in an aisle.
"This is not going to be a quick and easy fix for our kids and in the meantime their safety is at risk," says Estes.
The district says they are working to fill all 10 bus driver positions as soon as possible.