Area school district returns to class today after lack of bus drivers; Routes to be combined

SPRINGFIELD — Students will return to the classroom today at Clark-Shawnee Schools after being canceled due to a lack of bus drivers.

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Brian Kuhn, the school superintendent, said in a statement on social media late Wednesday they will be consolidating bus routes and adjusting pick-up times today to maintain district operations.

Here’s how the changes will impact middle and high school students who normally ride Bus #8, #24, or #19:

Bus #8- Middle and high school students will need to be ready to be picked up by Bus #23 between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m.
Bus #24- Middle and high school students will need to be ready to be picked up by Bus #9 between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m.
Bus #19- Middle and high school students will need to be prepared to be picked up by busses #1, #11, and #18 anytime between 6:30 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. It is like the consolidations that took place in recent months, according to the school district.

>>ORIGINAL COVERAGE: Classes canceled today for Clark County school district due to bus driver shortages

Here’s how the changes will impact elementary students who normally ride Bus #19 or #24:

Bus #19- Elementary students will be picked up by Bus #2. Students anywhere from 10-15 minutes later than normal.
Bus #24- Elementary students will be picked up late and you should expect the bus between 9:00 and 9:40 a.m.

The district said that bus riders who are late to school today due to the routing changes will not be penalized with a tardy.

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“We know that it’s a challenge for families,” Superintendent Brian Kuhn told News Center 7′s Kayla McDermott on Wednesday. “We have 19 drivers; our challenge is that our sub pool does not have a lot of names on it.”

Exactly 19 drivers for the 19 bus routes the district runs.

Kuhn said drivers called out sick following the holiday.

“We have about four drivers out of our system right now,” he said.

Kuhn said he needs more drivers so his current staff can call out when needed.

“Our operation is serving kids; we’ve got to have substitutes. And that is the challenge that we face,” Kuhn said.

With the callouts coming in Tuesday evening, there was not enough time to come up with a plan.

“We’ve had to consolidate routes, earlier points during the school year due to driver shortages,” Kuhn said.

The school spent Wednesday coming up with a plan to figure out routes for students on Thursday. The district said getting them back into the classroom was their top priority.

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Kuhn concluded the statement on social media Wednesday by thanking parents for their patience and understanding.

He said they look forward to welcoming students back today.

To read the full statement, visit this website.