Marysville’s busing situation is at a crisis point.
After losing three bus drivers in early August, the board of education learned Thursday night that the district is scrambling to cover routes.
“It’s all hands on deck to try to get through this,” Superintendent Diane Allen told the board.
At the beginning of last school year, the district was running 32 bus routes. It’s currently running 25 routes with another four specifically for special education students.
“It’s kind of a significant shift,” Allen said.
Because of the shortage of drivers and pinched routes, the district has provided information on its website to facilitate ride-sharing among students. Parents have been encouraged to find alternative means for transporting students to and from school, but the number of opt-outs has not reduced the impact of the driver shortage.
One route, bus 43 from Creekview Intermediate, doesn’t leave the school until 3:55 p.m., 30 minutes after classes end for the day.
Allen said, ideally, the district would employ 34 drivers and maintain a list of five substitutes. Currently the district is operating with 27 drivers, four of whom are currently on leave.
The district currently has no substitute drivers, relying on a pair of bus mechanics who are certified to drive as backups. One of those mechanics is set to retire in September.
Compounding problems is a surge of activity in the enrollment office over the summer. Nearly 300 students have inquired about enrollment since June, but officials won’t know exactly who is residing in the district until the dust settles after the first few weeks of class.
“I can’t even imagine trying to figure that out with limited staff,” Board President Sue Devine said.
The contingency plan if the district simply doesn’t have enough drivers to cover existing routes would be for a driver to complete one route and then head directly back out to start another. The situation would result in certain routes starting school late or arriving home late. Parents on the impacted route would be notified by the district emergency notification system.
If too many drivers are unavailable on a certain day the district might be forced to use a calamity day, Allen said.
With fall sports getting underway, the district is monitoring the impact of the driver shortage on the ability of teams to reach their contests. Allen said buses running behind on dismissal routes could result in teams being late to away contests.
“It will be challenging,” she said.
The shortage is not unique to Marysville as districts across the country find themselves in similar quandaries. In fact, the situation isn’t unique to this school year, as Marysville officials began recruiting drivers the summer of 2022.
The district offers drivers a $500 bonus to work for the district, but it does not pay for the necessary CDL training. Allen explained that the district does not front the cost of the training because ultimately the certification belongs to the individual.
The district currently has seven applicants interested in filling bus driver positions, but none of them have the required CDL certification. The lengthy process of acquiring a CDL, coupled with 12 additional hours of bus-specific training, means that it could take months to get interested applicants on the road.
“That’s not an immediate fix,” Allen said.
Allen told the board that the district has tried to be creative in attracting applicants, even reaching out to area businesses that employ CDL drivers on a part-time basis to see if they might like to supplement their income.
Allen said extracurriculars have been utilizing district vans where feasible, as those vehicles can be operated by a coach or advisor after a short training program. The limited seating of the vans, which allow nine occupants, removes them from consideration for larger groups.
Allen noted that one FFA advisor has obtained his CDL certification, allowing him to pilot buses for that group.
The shortages in the transportation department aren’t limited to the drivers.
Earlier this summer the district extended a contract to an individual to serve as transportation director but the offer was turned down because the person’s current school district bumped his pay.
At Thursday’s meeting the district approved Todd Amos as the district’s transportation director, but the contract marked a shift in approach.
On its surface the $85,000-annual contract is $15,000 more than the one offered to the previous applicant. But beyond that, Amos doesn’t have a background in transportation and Allen feels that could be a good thing.
The superintendent said transportation directors typically work their way up through the system, maintaining their certifications to drive buses. This is a great asset to be able to occasionally cover a route, but Marysville found that its directors were out on the road nearly every day, to the detriment of their other administrative duties.
“No one was in the office answering phones and problem solving,” Allen said.
Amos’ background is in business, meaning he has experience in customer service. Allen said the district chose to select a candidate with strong leadership skills, who can then learn the ins and outs of school transportation.
“It was important for us to reshape that model,” Allen said.
The superintendent added that anyone interested in pursuing a job as a bus driver for the district can contact Lynnette Focht, Director of Human Resources, at 937-578-6100, ext. 6144.