BY SAFIJA SHATKU
Clubs Editor
Last school year, the Board of Education removed all late buses for after-school activities due to budget issues. Starting in October, the 4pm late bus will run every Wednesday.
The announcement of the return of late buses, even just on Wednesdays, relieved students and teachers greatly. “It was like the scene in Squid Games where they were all cheering for each other,” joked senior Jordan Rosenthal.
Students in clubs and other after-school activities struggled to combat the difficulty that came with the elimination of late buses. “For my club, it is a lot harder to have people come to MSA because majority of the people can’t get rides home,” explained senior Rohan Siddique, the President of Muslim Student Association.
“Starting in October, the 4 PM Wednesday late bus will run at the secondary level. We will closely monitor bus use to make long-term decisions that best support our students in the future.”
– OBHS Principal, Dr. Vincent Sasso.
Students did not struggle alone; teachers who tutored or hosted clubs after-school also had to come up with solutions. “[It gave] me much more responsibility because I had to be sure that each student was going to be picked up and supervised until that happened,” said Mariastella Marrapodi, a teacher in the World Language department and advisor to the Italian Club and Honors Society.
The school administration knew something had to change after witnessing the challenges this decision caused for many students who relied on this transportation. “The conversation was maybe we can bring them [late buses] back for some,” said Dr. Vincent Sasso. “Clubs, extra help, and kids who need to stay after have at least one day a week they’ll be able to.”
With late buses returning, after-school activities can now rely on an efficient means of transportation for their students again. “At this point, as a senior I’m able to drive myself home for the most part, but I will able to grow MSA a lot more easier since students won’t have to worry about rides home,” said Siddique.
Students remain optimistic for the Board of Education to return late buses full-time; for now, after-school activities must take into account the current schedule. “Hopefully the school gets enough funding to have them on more days,” stated junior Faith Okoko.
Posted on 10/28/25
Photos by Safija Shatku
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