Bowling Green Superintendent Francis Scruci gave parents some bad news/good news in an email today about busing.
In August, the district hired eight drivers. One driver was already certified and has since been hired full time.
However, two drivers withdrew their applications for personal reasons. Of the current five new drivers, who are still in the training process, only one will be ready to test by the Christmas break. This is due to various reasons, from family issues to struggling to memorize the pre-trip procedures.
“As you know, our hope was for them all to be trained and tested by Christmas break,” Scruci wrote.
That would have allowed the district to reinstate the one-mile walking distance and transport more of our students.
“Unfortunately, we’ll be unable to bring the whole district back to the one-mile limit,” Scruci said.
The good news, he added, is that with the current bus configuration, the district can provide transportation for K-5 who live one mile or more from their schools. This change will take place the first day back from Christmas break. This will be accomplished by running multiple routes out of both Conneaut and Crim. This will cause some students to arrive home later than their current schedule, but the delay should be minimal, Scruci said.
Transportation Director Toby Snow will be sending new pick-up and drop-off times to all K-5 riders early next week.
“Our plan still is once we get the remainder of drivers certified, that we’ll be able to move the walking distance for the 6-12 students back to one mile,” Scruci said.
“Please know that we have done as much as a district can do to attract and hire individuals to drive our students, including a $2,000 sign on bonus,” Scruci said. “Again, if you or you know of anyone interested in driving for our district, I encourage you to contact Mr. Snow and begin the process.”
Anyone with questions, should contact Snow.
