Parents and students in the Greene County school district will feel the impact of a shortage of bus drivers, as eligibility for bus transportation has been tightened and some bus stops and bus routes have been eliminated for the coming school year.
Students who live less than 1 mile from the school they attend are no longer eligible for busing. There will be families in which one child can ride a bus but other children in the family cannot. The only exception to the 1-mile rule will be children who attend a childcare facility on a bus route. Those children are eligible to ride the bus.
Students who attend the elementary or middle school will not be picked up or dropped off at the former middle school stop. That stop will be available upon request to high school students only who live less than 1 mile from the high school.
Bus stops along Westwood Dr in Jefferson have been combined as one stop at the corner of Hickory Ln. Stops near the water tower have been combined to form one stop at Head Park.
Other changes were announced earlier. The stop at E. Lincoln Way and Cedar St and the stop at S. Elm and Grauer St have been eliminated.
Also, the district will no longer provide transportation for personal activities such as dance, JPRD programs, GCP, Webb House, after school church programs, or any other activities that are not school-related.
“The only reason that we are reducing routes is simply that we have a shortage of drivers for our school district,” school superintendent Brett Abbotts said. “We have advertised, reached out to former drivers, and believe that we offer a very competitive wage for our drivers. However, we have been unable to obtain the necessary commitments from a driver.”
Abbotts explained the district has always provided more bus service than required. “The state requirement says that we do not have to operate within two miles of the building where that student attends. However, we have always tried to ensure that our students have a mode of transportation to get to school,” Abbotts said.
Wages for bus route drivers were increased to $43.18 this past year. The negotiated contract with the drivers calls for increases in the next two years as well, according to Abbotts.
“If there was anyone who was interested, licensed (CDL), and able to be employed by our district, we would love to have them reach out and have a conversation with us,” Abbotts said.
Other transportation information: All families who have requested busing and are eligible must use the Stopfinder® app for basic bus information (bus number, bus stop location, and pickup/drop off times). The Stopfinder app is temporarily not active while routes are being finalized. Stopfinder will be activated again once information is finalized.
Parents who do not have a Stopfinder account will receive an invitation email with a link to download the app. Families of students who have specialized transportation and ride a school van will be contacted directly by the school.
Persons who have questions can contact transportation secretary Jill Lamoureux at lamoureuxj@greenecountycsd.net or 515-386-4168.
