If the Marysville School District can’t fix its bussing problems it may soon find itself with three fewer students
Matt Cunningham and his family live 12 miles north of Marysville and rely on school transportation.
“We have three kids in three different schools starting at the same time,” Cunningham said. “It’s nearly impossible to take the kids to school with two working parents, so we rely on bussing.”
Staffing shortages have led some Marysville routes to be habitually late, while some days are punctuated by delays that can be hours long. In those situations, the Cunningham’s reach out for help.
“We’ve also had to rely on neighbors and family to get the kids to school on time when the buses can’t,” Cunningham said.
Already battling a staff shortage, a driver absence called-in for Thursday resulted in parents being alerted that one of the morning bus routes and three of the afternoon routes would be running one to two hours behind schedule. School staff stayed with the students after school until they could board a bus.
“I’m not sure what the problem is,” Cunningham said. “I know they are short staffed, but bussing kids to school is not a new concept.
“They need to figure it out.”
Cunningham said he always wanted his children, the oldest of whom is 10, to attend his alma mater, but the recent transportation issues are shaking his faith in the district.
“I went to Marysville schools as a kid and always thought it was a great district,” he said. “I wanted to make sure my kids went there too, which they now do.
“However, if they (the district) can’t handle growth properly, or resort to remote learning again … we may, for the first time ever, con-sider enrolling our kids in private school.”
The Marysville Board of Education voted Thursday night to adjust the bell schedule at all schools in an effort to deal with the district’s bussing quagmire. Officials pointed out, however, that the changes would not eliminate some of extreme route disturbances, like what the district experienced on Thursday.
District Director of Operations Ryan Walker said the move to adjust the bell schedule will not fix severe issues like the district experienced Thursday.
“To say with any certainty that (situation) would be eliminated would be difficult,” Walker said.
What the adjustment in the bell schedule will do, is give district transportation staff some flexibility to improve routes that are consistently running 10-20 minutes late every day.
“It’s not as if the world got flipped upside down,” Walker told the board.
The approved plan involves Bunsold Middle School beginning school 15 minutes earlier and dismissing 20 minutes earlier. The Early College High School will begin 10 minutes earlier and dismissing 18 minutes earlier, while the high school will start 12 minutes earlier and let out 20 minutes sooner.
Creekview Intermediate will start and dismiss five minutes earlier than the current schedule and the elementary schools will begin and let out five minutes later.
The new schedule is set to be implemented on Nov. 13.
In terms of total educational time, the day will be eight minutes shorter at the high schools and five minutes shorter at Bunsold. The length of the day is unchanged at Creekview and the elementary schools. Even with the reduced minutes, the district will still be providing educational time 21-24 days above the state minimum.
Assistant Superintendent Johnathan Langhals said the additional time created between routes will allow drivers to deal with common traf-fic delays that crop up on the routes. While not designed to compensate for routes with missing drivers, it should help drivers who are scrambling under the strain of larger routes.
“This helps drivers reduce stress because additional time makes a difference,” Langhals said.
Since nearly the beginning of the school year the district has been plagued by drivers requesting extended leave in the face of a thin transportation staff. In Marysville, a fully staffed transportation department would see 34 routes staffed by 34 drivers and three or four substitutes. The district is currently servicing 28 routes with 22 drivers, while six drivers are on approved leave.
“Those six people that are on leave, if they come back, we’d be fine,” Superintendent Diane Allen said. “But they certainly have a legitimate reason to be out.”
Langhals said as the district begins to increase staff, either through returning drivers or new hires, the new bell schedule will bear fruit as the efficiencies will allow drivers to fix traditionally late routes.
Walker said the drivers have been going above and beyond to keep the district operating, so it was important to keep them involved in creating the new schedule.
“We just keep putting more weight on them and they keep carrying it,” Walker said.
He noted that the approved bell schedule is actually a compromise settled on with drivers, after a more dramatic initial plan. Allen noted that the original proposed schedule changed would have resulted in some drivers switching away from routes and families they know well.
“That was frustrating to drivers because they’re invested in those kids,” Allen said.
Cunningham said his family sees and appreciates the extra work of the drivers who are showing up and suffering through the shortage.
“We greatly appreciate the bus drivers who are continuing to work and pick up extra routes to get the kids to school,” he said. “We think they deserve compensation for all their extra work.”
Walker said, ultimately, the district can improve efficiencies within the routes, but the most pain is being created by a simple matter of supply and demand – the demand for bus services isn’t changing so the district must supply more drivers.
“Really, the solution to our problem is manpower,” Walker said. “Either we need some people to get onboard (new drivers), or to come back from their leaves.”
The district has gotten creative in its attempts to find drivers, as Allen noted that drivers from Buckeye Valley and London have been called into service when not serving their home district.
Marysville is also hosting an open house today from 9-11 a.m. at the district transportation lot, 700 Amrine Mill Road, where potential future drivers can get behind the wheel of a school bus and talk to current drivers about the job. Bus drivers do need a CDL and some additional education-specific training.
Board member Bill Keck, who has previously been a certified bus driver, said those interested shouldn’t feel that they “can’t drive a big, yellow Twinkie.”
He said modern buses, with automatic transmissions and shorter wheelbases, are much easier to drive than older models.
“Don’t shy away from this job because you think you can’t do it,” Keck said.