After two months of parents struggling to get their kids to and from school when their bus route was canceled for the day, things should get back to normal in March.
Durango School District 9-R announced Friday that the rolling school bus route cancellations will end starting Monday.
“We have one driver returning to the district who had moved away and he still had his licensure,” said 9-R Superintendent Dan Snowberger. “He was a great driver. And we have a trainee who has now graduated.”
The district instituted the cancellations after months of having its mechanics and office personnel driving routes because it was unable to fill eight vacancies. In December, after numerous delays from mechanical problems, the district decided it could no longer afford to have the mechanics out of the garage, he said.
The cancellations were a challenge for everyone, Snowberger told the 9-R school board at its meeting Tuesday.
“Despite the posting on the website and reminders we’ve sent to parents that a bus route is canceled for the day, they forget that today is the day my bus is canceled,” he said. “This hasn’t just impacted our students and families but our principals, who have been staying late with students whose parents forgot.”
The cancellations led to student tardiness and absences, he told the board, particularly at the rural schools, Florida Mesa, Fort Lewis Mesa and Animas Valley elementary schools.
The district has had its share of issues with school buses this school year, including a bus rollover in November. That led to extended care in graduating drivers from its training, holding drivers back for an extra week or so to make sure they were ready, Snowberger said.
Hiring drivers has been a challenge for several years, Snowberger said. The job is about five hours per day in a split shift, before and after school, with some field trips and activity trips thrown in. The district offers benefits, including health insurance and retirement, but it’s not a full-time job, which has made hiring more difficult.
“We’re not required to provide transportation by the state, but in a district our size, it’s the right thing to do,” he said. “You can’t educate kids if they’re not there.”
abutler@durangoherald.com
