Bowling Green City Schools students will either have to walk farther or find alternate transportation to get to school this fall.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the board of education approved a change in its transportation policy that states any child living beyond 2 miles is entitled to busing.
The policy previously was 1 mile for grades kindergarten to five. Grades six-12 continue to be 2 miles.
The move is due to the lack of bus drivers.
“There’s not an easy solution to this,” said Superintendent Francis Scruci. “If we don’t have people driving, buses don’t run and routes have to be canceled.
“We know that this creates issues for some families,” he said.
Thomas Wolf, who lives at 1048 N. Main St., said he is 1.8 miles from the school if a direct line is drawn, and 2.2 miles by foot.
He said he is concerned about his elementary child crossing a busy road twice a day during rush hour. Wolf asked for police patrols or crossing guards to help the younger students.
He said he has to be at work at 5:30 a.m., so there is no other option than having his son walk to school.
“I think it’s important to ensure the safety of our walkers,” said board member Tracy Hovest, whose own daughter will lose transportation under the new policy.
She suggested more crossing guards be hired to help the students in high-traffic areas.
“We struggled finding full-time bus drivers,” said transportation director Toby Snow.
Last year, his department had four retirements and three drivers on long-term sick leave; he doesn’t expect they will return.
That put the department down seven drivers and as a result, at least two routes a day were canceled from January to the end of the school year, Snow said.
He has 11 full-time drivers for the start of this school year.
There are 20 routes with the 1-mile radius, and with all drivers and transportation staff on the road, Snow said he is still down four drivers.
Ohio Revised Code requires schools to transfer students within a radius of 2 miles, he said.
With the new 2-mile radius, there will be 14 routes, so he will still be short three drivers.
“But that’s a lot more doable,” Snow said.
He said the policy change will keep the district in compliance with Ohio Revised Code; falling out a compliance could mean a loss of school funding.
If a complaint about a route being canceled is filed with the Ohio Department of Education, the district will be told to fix the problem.
One complaint was filed last spring, but ODE could not conduct its investigation before school let out for the summer, Scruci said.
Snow said he hopes to bring back the 1-mile radius in either January or next year.
“The driver shortage issue is shared by a majority of districts, not only in Northwest Ohio but the entire state,” Scruci said.
At last month’s board meeting, a community member suggested retention bonuses to entice drivers to stay.
This is not a retention issue, Scruci said. It is related to retirements, illnesses and relocations.
It has been difficult to find people who are interested or qualified to drive a bus, he said.
Pay was increased by $3 an hour but didn’t have an impact, he said. The advertised starting pay was $17.64-$18.85 an hour.
“The fact is we have a shortage because of individuals who don’t want to drive,” Scruci said.
Last year’s route cancellations was a short-term solution and can’t be continued long term.
School attendance was negatively impacted as families could not arrange transportation if their route was canceled, Scruci said.
Administrators are open to suggestions.
“The only option available is not ideal, and recommending 2 miles is certainly not what we want to do, but even with that, we’re still four drivers short,” Scruci said.
Snow said the average time to get a driver certified is four to six months.
He said he has received seven applications through a hiring website. But even if all pass the training and tests, the earliest the new drivers will be available is January.
“Our families have relied on the 1 mile for a number of years,” said board member Norm Geer. “We’ve got to find a way to do what’s necessary.
“There’s got to be a dollar amount that would cause somebody to change jobs or come out of retirement,” he said.
Snow said districts north of Bowling Green offer $22 and $23 and are still short on drivers.
If BGCS raised pay to $25, other districts will offer $27, he said.
Hovest asked if buildings could be open earlier to accommodate parents who want to drop their child off on the way to work.
Scruci said there are before-school programs in some of the elementaries, but an early start elsewhere will require personnel.
Board member Ginny Stewart suggested carpooling.
“It may not be feasible but it’s an idea … as a temporary fix,” she said.
