Canal Winchester Schools officials working to keep bus driver shortage at minimal

Canal Winchester Schools has been dealing with a mild shortage of bus drivers much like other districts in central Ohio amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

But as of Jan. 18 the staffing shortage has not been significant enough to push the district to put students on remote learning.

In a normal school year, Superintendent Jim Sotlar said the district would have 42 full-time drivers and two permanent substitute drivers. The district currently has 38 full-time drivers and two substitute drivers, according to district director of operations Mike Bruning.

“Our main concern right now is with our bussing, our transportation,” Sotlar said.

Bruning said the district would like to have an additional six full-time drivers and also another six substitutes.

“We’d really like to have 12 more people available to us,” he said.

Sotlar said the district lost three bus drivers at the beginning of the school year. One is out due to medical reasons and is expected back this year, and the other two left the position.

Soltar said two drivers have been hired and after training should be available no later than mid-March.

Sotlar said the district has reduced school days by an hour to help compensate.

Students at the high school, middle school and Winchester Trail Elementary School are starting at normal times but are getting out an hour earlier. Indian Trail Elementary students are starting an hour later but are being release at the normal time, he said.

“But if we lose one or two more (drivers), I’m not sure what we’re going to do besides having late buses all the time,” Sotlar said.

Sotlar said drivers also have been running double routes.

“Drivers have been picking up the slack; they’re dropping kids off and going back and getting more kids,” he said. “The new change in schedule has helped out drastically, so we don’t have as many double routes going on. But that’s if we keep the staffing at that level.”

Sotlar said while the district has avoided this, further alterations to the scheduling and remote learning periods are on the table if the situation worsens.

“Knock on wood, we have not been forced to do that, but it’s something that is out there,” he said. “I don’t want to do it and nobody wants to do it, but if we lose more bus drivers I’m not sure what else we can do but by going remote for some buildings at a time.

“Hopefully we won’t get to that level.”

sborgna@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekSteve

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Canal Winchester Schools officials working to keep bus driver shortage at minimal