Student athletes, coaches and parents of the South Whidbey School District are speaking out against a rule that prohibits school bus drivers from stopping for food or bathroom breaks on the way home from team sporting events.

Thanks to their diligence, there could be change ahead, starting in the new school year.

The rule, which Superintendent Jo Moccia has made clear is an administrative decision and not a school board policy, originated during the COVID-19 pandemic when bus drivers did not make any stops in order to limit the spread of the virus.

People have suggested that with school sports in full swing and the worst of the pandemic appearing to be over, there’s no need to continue with it, especially when most teams travel to the mainland by ferry for away games and as a result often get home late at night.

About 40 people filled the room during a South Whidbey School Board meeting Wednesday night in support of reconsidering the administrative decision, which they said has allowed kids to go hungry after a long day of competing. Some bus drivers, they said, don’t even allow athletes to eat food on the bus that they’ve brought from home.

Emotions in the room ran high, with at least one speaker close to tears. Though Moccia had recently met with students and coaches about the issue, many were puzzled by her claim that it would cost the district $20,000 for bus drivers to make one-hour stops for all 174 athletic and field trips in a school year while being paid overtime at $55 an hour.

Simple math puts the figure at less than $10,000, although it was unclear if the superintendent was considering other factors.

When asked that night by the board how much the stops would cost the school district, Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Dan Poolman was unable to provide an exact amount and said he would have to look at every trip to see which ones came in later than they were supposed to.

Mark Eager, a teacher with the district, pointed out that not every activity stops for food and none stops for an entire hour.

“I’ll let someone else do the math, but at least I know how to talk to kids. The students felt Dr. Jo was condescending and dismissive,” he said. “Some left the meeting literally demoralized, and the misuse of the talking stick by the superintendent in the community circle to rudely interrupt student voices left them infuriated.”

A handful of students who play on high school sports teams also spoke about the issue. Thea Williams, who suffers from Type 1 diabetes, urged school leaders to reconsider the decision for the sake of athletes like herself who have health issues and need to be able to have access to food in order to avoid an emergency.

Hadley Eager spoke about making a sandwich at 6 a.m. and then having to consume the soggy product 13 hours later and asked what has become of high school traditions like stopping for food on the way home from a game. Catie Beech pointed out that students start eating lunch before 11 a.m. and return from sport events around 8:30 p.m. or later.

“This means that on a regular day – meaning not an early release Wednesday – students have played a full game or match without eating for nine hours,” Beech said. “Some bus drivers don’t like people eating on the bus because of the mess, meaning that we have no time to eat before or after the game. Some people eat hot lunch, and so they don’t have snacks to eat on the bus in the first place.”

Others felt the decision had been hastily made without input from the stakeholders involved. Karyle Kramer, a coach with the school district, said that neither she nor any of the coaches she’s spoken to were informed of the new rule, contrary to Moccia’s assertion that she communicated it to coaches many times.

Kramer told a story of her daughter’s experience with the rule. The volleyball team members weren’t allowed to eat on the bus or stop for food, not even while waiting at length for the 12:15 a.m. ferry sailing back to South Whidbey.

“When the volleyball team sat in the Mukilteo ferry lot for nearly an hour at midnight in late October without having had access to warm food for over 10 hours, this rule prevented professionals from making a reasonable decision,” she said. “This rule shows that you don’t trust drivers and you don’t trust coaches to make sound decisions.”

Ben Criswell, a parent and business owner, wondered what is the real cost of the bus stops and if the school district is in need of a corporate sponsor.

“The fact that we have to come and stack in here like cordwood to request an opportunity for our children to stop and eat and use the restroom illustrates the unbelievable absurdity that is the South Whidbey School District currently,” he said.

While the school board’s student representatives, Katya Schiavone and Audrey Gmerek, were openly supportive of the commenters, the rest of the school board did not take such a stand.

Earlier in the meeting, Poolman reported that the school district needs to reduce its budget by 10%. Board Member Andrea Downs said while she understood that the money saved from eliminating bus stops for food may seem insignificant, she supports any decision that keeps any amount of teaching staff.

In a statement to The South Whidbey Record, Moccia said she heard “loud and clear” from the students that the practice of stopping for food needs to resume. The athletic director, coaches and principals will work together to make recommendations to reduce – or perhaps fundraise to offset – expenses for the $450,000 athletic budget in other ways this spring in preparation for the next school year in order to meet budgetary goals, she said.

That means the school bus stops for food could start again this fall.