Some families at Angeline Academy of Innovation say they are spending up to two hours in the dismissal car line each day, and on Tuesday they told the Pasco County School Board that the wait is financially costly.

Every parent who spoke during public comment at the Aug. 25 board meeting, the first since school started, was from the Land O’ Lakes magnet school, where car lines now stretch from the parking lot onto surrounding streets.

Parent Michael Zadroga called it a “transportation crisis” and estimated that families collectively lose more than $2.4 million a year in wages.

“It’s placing a huge financial burden on the families,” Zadroga said. “The average hourly rate in Pasco County is about $30 an hour, so I think that works out to be about $13,500 a day in lost wages and if you add that up in the 181 days school — that’s little over $2.4 million in lost revenue for the families.”

Grandparent Rita Borkowski said she arrives at 2 p.m. daily, 40 minutes before the 2:40 p.m. dismissal, and still does not collect her students until 3:15 p.m. Fellow parent John Peterson said arriving any later would leave him “way out on the street” and unable to collect his children until 3:30 p.m.

Parents blamed rapid growth in the area, saying the district was not prepared for how quickly new neighborhoods and schools would materialize. Angeline Academy is a grades 6-12 magnet school.

While families acknowledged that transportation is not guaranteed at magnet schools because they are choice programs, they asked the district to add buses. Zadroga credited school staff for adjustments already made but said the volume of students remains the core problem: too many kids loading one or two at a time into individual cars.

Superintendent John Legg said a new route has already cut 30 minutes off the wait compared with the first day of school.

“They implemented a new strategy and reduced time by 30 minutes since Day 1 … we’re pleased that we’re heading in the right direction, but we have a lot more to do,” Legg said, according to Tampa Bay 28.

Legg said the district will reassess transportation options after the 10-day enrollment count.