Getting 75,000 kids to school is a big job. But Wake County school officials say they got through the morning without any major problems on the first day with all schools in session. The challenge will come this afternoon.

A tighter daily bell schedule, established to accommodate the Wednesday early release days, means little or no time between routes in Wake's three-tiered transportation schedule.  Wake Transportation Director Bob Snidemiller said parents can expect some delays in getting elementary age children home from school.

"We've done everything we can to make each route efficient so that we can try to narrow that gap," said Snidemiller. "We'll see how it goes this afternoon."

At Hunter Elementary School, Assistant Principal Curtis Brower said he had heard fewer complaints from parents than in previous years. Seven parents reported problems with "no shows" at the bus stop, a number Brower called "phenomenal," considering 600 of the schools 800 students are bus riders.

"We basically tell parents to try to be flexible, try to work with your employer so that you have the flexibility to get to work a few minutes late or leave work a few minutes early on this first week of school," he said.

Bus drivers were required to run their routes prior to this morning to work out kinks, but with new riders added daily, Spencer Jenkins said there were still some last-minute changes to figure out.

"Parents asked me, ‘is this the time you're going to come every day?'" he said. "Well, you have to tell them no, because the first day of school, I'm counting the students, getting their names, making sure that they're supposed to be on this bus."

Snidemiller said the main transportation office has added a second person to answer parent calls and respond to emails within 24 hours.

"If we can't answer that question in the main office, we'll send it out to the district office and they will return the call within a day," he said. "The community should expect that."

Click here to find information about Wake County bus routes and contact numbers/email.