The dismissal process at Mulligan Elementary School in Central Islip has some parents frustrated during the first week back to school.

While fifth- and sixth-grade students take the bus or walk home, students in kindergarten through fourth grade get dismissed one by one.

Parents say part of the problem is this is the first year that K-4 has been added to the school, and staff are adjusting to that change. One parent says there are no school buses for the younger students.

Yvette Vaccarino says it took nearly an hour to pick her 8-year-old son up from school at dismissal.

"The first day I picked him up was total chaos," Vaccarino said. "There was a number of kids crying, he was one of them."

In a statement, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Howard Koenig says, "While dismissal initially took a little longer than parents might have expected during the first few days of the new school year, keeping our students safe and secure during this busy dismissal period remains a priority."

The superintendent says since the first day of school they have cut down on the time it takes for students to be picked up and the district will continue to improve the dismissal process.