Dayton school busing plans trigger sharp debate
Bus drivers, parents express views at town hall on changes.
Dayton Public Schools will hold two more town hall meetings this week, after parents, bus drivers and others questioned the district’s major proposals to change school busing next year.
Superintendent Rhonda Corr will lead 5:30 p.m. meetings today at Kiser PreK-6 School (1401 Leo St.), and Wednesday at Belmont High School (2615 Wayne Ave.).
“Change is always scary, no matter what we do. But we have to do something,” Corr said Wednesday at E.J. Brown Middle School. “We don’t have the drivers needed in order to properly and respectfully transport your children. We’re trying to recruit, we’re trying to do everything we can, and nothing has worked as of yet.”
Last week’s two meetings, with more than 50 people each night, saw major debate over a plan to have middle schoolers ride RTA buses instead of DPS school buses. But the two meetings had different tones, as Corr largely heard parent comments Wednesday, while bus drivers turned out in force Thursday.
On Wednesday, parent concerns ranged from the safety of 12-year-olds riding with high schoolers and adults, to whether those students were mature enough to do so, as well as the financial impact on the district and how DPS would use the money it would save.
At Wogaman School on Thursday, the first six people to speak were either DPS bus drivers, former drivers or children of drivers. Several defended their work, saying much of the district’s transportation problems are with administration-level issues such as hiring and pay.
Corr repeatedly thanked the drivers for their work and dedication, telling them that her own mother had been a bus driver. But she pointed back to Associate Superintendent Shelia Burton’s presentation explaining why multiple changes are needed.
Burton said the school district doesn’t have enough bus drivers to transport all the DPS, charter and parochial students they’re responsible for. Burton said to do the job right, the district needs 175 buses and drivers, but only has 154 drivers today. On top of that, she said an average of 20 drivers per day are sick or otherwise off work, leaving them 41 drivers short.
“Our kids are losing out on so much — and it’s not just about getting to school in the morning, or getting home in the evening,” Corr said. “The other issues are, nobody can take a field trip during the day ... and our (teams) have forfeited games
because we can’t get them there on time.”
Burton laid out five strat- egies that would reduce the
number of children riding DPS buses, and therefore the number of buses and drivers needed.
Having seventh- and eighth-graders ride RTA rather than Dayton Public Schools buses;
Changing start times, so DPS schools start at 7:15, 8:15 and 9:15, allowing buses to do multiple routes;
Making commercial day care centers responsible for transporting students to their location;
Getting state approval to stop busing charter or paro
chial students whose routes take more than 30 minutes;
With some exceptions, requiring students who attend a DPS school out
side their city quadrant to transport themselves.
Bus driver and DPS parent Kenyatta Monie said her
sixth-grade daughter is not responsible enough to be on an RTA bus next year, and she worries that she’ll hear inappropriate comments from high school students
on the bus. Other drivers said it’s a major problem
that DPS loses bus drivers to other agencies that pay better.
Dayton resident Randy Faison suggested the district reach out to unemployed parents in the district and encourage them to become bus drivers, helping solve
the district’s problem, while helping their families.