MARYSVILLE, Ohio — The superintendent of Marysville Exempted Village School District is proposing a schedule adjustment for some schools in response to a shortage of bus drivers.
Diane Allen, the superintendent of the district, said it is down 12 bus drivers. Some of the drivers retired while others took a leave of absence, which led them to start the school year with a shortage.
“All of last year we ran on the edge of having enough drivers. This year we hit the tipping point. We have added bonuses for people to come on board,” said superintendent Diane Allen.
The proposed schedule would have start times range from 7:25 a.m. to 9:20 a.m. Dismissal would range from 2:20 p.m. to 4:05 p.m. Allen said the change could give more consistency to families who rely on the bus.
“We have zero subs on our sub list. If we reach a point where certainly people get sick, we don’t have enough people to go around. By restructuring our schedule, it enables more time,” said Allen.
The change in bell times could be tough on some families. One woman said she has two kids in the district and the change would not be good for her schedule.
“I take him [high school student] to school at 7:52. That is the first bell. Now, it will be 7:30 as the new start time, and he will have to be up at like five in the morning. And he [elementary student] won't have to be at school until 9:05,” said Jamie Manning.
Allen recognized that this isn't an ideal situation for parents who may struggle with the possible schedule change.
“This is not ideal. None of us are pretending we want to change a bell schedule in October. We know consistency matters and unfortunately we don’t have the bodies to pull it off,” said Allen.
The school board will vote on the bell schedule next week. If it passes, it will start in October.
Proposed bell schedule:
- Bunsold Middle School start: 7:25 a.m. Dismissal: 2:20 p.m.
- Marysville High School start: 7:30 a.m. Dismissal: 2:30 p.m.
- Early College High School start: 7:30 a.m. Dismissal: 2:30 pm
- Creekview Intermediate start: 8:35 a.m. Dismissal: 2:30 pm
- Elementary schools start: 9:20 a.m. Dismissal: 4:05 p.m.