Fortuna school board to vote on reimbursement plan for Bridgeville families without bus service

By Tim A. Smith

The loss of their school bus route has left Bridgeville-area high school students facing hardship accessing their education. At a board meeting on Sept. 8, three potential options were considered: reinstating the bus route, reimbursing parents or making no changes to the cancellation. The board will vote this month as to whether they will reimburse parents for their commutes.

Since December of 2024, those living along state Route 36 in southern Humboldt have faced difficulties accessing necessary resources due to an unstable highway. The local high schoolers are among those most affected by this issue, as their bus route to Fortuna High, located 28 miles west of their town, was canceled after a slide occurred nearly two years ago.

During the recent board meeting, many families in the area said they were forced to relocate on account of the transportation issue, but other families are without this option. With rising gas prices and limited economic opportunity in the area, families said they are at an incredible loss following the route cancellation.

In addition to the costs, parents are also spending hours getting their kids to school. John Poundstone, a parent making the commute daily, shared that his drive time is about four hours total. Poundstone also claims he spends more than $90 per day on fuel and that due to the commute, he is unable to find meaningful employment.

Locals in the community said they are frustrated not just by the commute but also because they believe the route to be accessible by bus. Some parents and other members of the community fear that there may be prejudice at play.

Superintendent Clint Duey of Fortuna High has found himself at the center of the controversy as members of the Bridgeville community believe Duey and other board members are unnecessarily restricting their students from an education. Several of the parents interviewed mentioned that prejudices toward students from Bridgeville existed decades ago when they were students as well.

In his correspondence with KMUD, Duey said, “I have spoken with Caltrans District 1 folks and they concur that my decision was reasonable and best given the situation that the slide could come down again any time.”

However, Caltrans stated in their email response that “We were essentially asked if the slide area had zero risk. Nobody can characterize travel along any roadway, particularly an active slide area, as having zero risk. When Route 36 is open, however, it means our staff have determined that current conditions support public travel with traffic control, monitoring and stabilization measures in place.”

Duey claims that while the road is technically open it is inherently dangerous to run a bus through that area on a daily basis. Duey’s concern stems from an incident where a Caltrans worker was killed by the slide just over a year ago. Those who drive the road daily disagree about the current danger, however and collectively claim that the road conditions have improved significantly since the incident.

As of publishing, students in the Bridgeville area are responsible for their own transportation. While the board has decided to vote on potential reimbursement for parents, they mentioned at the September meeting that it is unlikely due to financial difficulties.

Duey recommended that no changes be made.

“While it is a hard decision, it is the most legally defensible position for the district,” Duey said at the same board meeting. “It is not a convenient one for parents.”