EDITOR’S TAKE
Under the Back-to-School Microscope
Written by Ryan Gray |
ryan@stnonline.com
• Children left on school bus for hours after falling asleep • 8-year-old hospitalized after being hit by school bus • Superintendent to community: Find me 50 bus drivers by Labor Day
T
he above headlines were but three out of dozens more like them published during school startup. The first month or two (and sometimes three) of a new school year is challenging for even the
best run school district. Inevitably something will not go according to plan. Because this industry serves children, any shortcoming or issue must be relatively minor. Teachers and principals can hide opening day miscal-
culations or worse within classroom walls, for a while at least. But from day one, transportation failures are heavi- ly publicized by the local and sometimes national media. A year ago, Jefferson County Public Schools in Louis-
ville, Kentucky, was raked over hot coals for the failure of its new AI-enabled routing software that resulted in late or absent school buses. Jefferson County administrators eventually closed school for a week to figure out the mess. This school year, the school district responded as hun-
dreds of other school districts have when faced with similar problems. They cut non-essential transportation to magnet schools and some general education routes. But trans- portation remains essential to many of the students and parents affected. More backlash erupted. The situation has improved, to the point that Jefferson County is considering bringing back some routes. A new homegrown routing system has helped. But the damage to the community relationship was already done. A group of student riders recently created a rap song and video, “Where My Bus At?” Beyond last year’s AI routing debacle, the major culprit in the case of Jefferson County and at school districts nationwide is the ongoing shortage of school bus driv- ers. I have read and heard far too many stories on how staffing levels impact school bus arrival times. Some parents are empathetic, but others are not. They expect the service to be reliable and on time. They entrust their children to the school bus and its operator. They under- standably are perplexed if not irate when the bus is late, doesn’t show up, students are dropped off at the wrong stop, are left on board for hours at the conclusion of routes, especially when there is little or no communica- tion from the school district. A recent survey conducted by Zum indicates that 53 percent of 1,500 parents polled online in June said their
12 School Transportation News • SEPTEMBER 2024
children have missed the school bus because they didn’t know when it was arriving. Another 43 percent said their children have been negatively impacted by school trans- portation issues. Meanwhile, a HopSkipDrive survey of nearly 400 student transporters last spring found that over 28 percent said driver shortages were severely constrain- ing their operations. Nearly 62 percent said operations were “somewhat constrained.” Improved school bus driver recruitment and retention
is trending. COVID-19, while still a thing, is not as severe as it once was considered. People are coming back to work. Then what’s the problem? Is it that student trans- porters, as they are programmed to do, are simply doing what they must to keep the service rolling using whatev- er resources they have at their disposal? The impact on not only service but safety comes into
question. That’s where training, training and more training is at play. Especially at school startup, when school buses on the nation’s roadways are in full force alongside all other vehicles, and the media focus is the tight. Student stops are the least safe place for a school bus rider. That’s why they are called the “Danger Zone.” This month, we continue to explore the fragility of
student loading and unloading. Technology is playing an increasing role in helping school bus drivers detect students at stops as well as bringing more visibility to school buses, as we read in this month’s edition. But these solutions are supplements. They don’t and can’t replace training. The school bus safety record shows what is possible
when the right people get behind the wheel and remain there, meeting the second-to-none school bus construc- tion standards. Increased pay is needed but so too are more tools to assist drivers and monitors with increasing student behavior problems on board. Last month’s STN web poll indicates readers are seeing increased ridership this school year, a good thing. But staffing levels must be commensurate and at the top of mind for all school transportation industry professionals—not simply those at school districts and bus companies.
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