The school year begins in seven days for Washoe County students. For those who ride the bus, there will be some new rules because of the threat of COVID-19. Each bus will operate at 50 percent capacity. For the largest school buses, that means up to 45 students. In most cases, it will allow one person per seat.
"We're having to assign seats to maintain safety and keep minimized contact between students," Rick Martin, Director of Transportation for the Washoe County School District (WCSD) said.
Hand sanitizer will be available on the buses and each student will have to wear a mask. Bus drivers will have to wear a mask and a face shield. Drivers are also required to step up cleaning and sanitation standards.
"We will be cleaning and disinfecting the buses before and after runs or after routes, so they're being taken care of at least twice a day," Martin said. "Probably more like three times a day, four times a day."
When school starts, buses will run with their windows down, roof hatches open and air vents will be going.
"That will help with the air flow and obviously help with with any aspect of minimizing viral transmission," Martin said. "As my grandfather used to say, the old air conditioning was 465. Four windows down, 65 miles an hour."
The school district is adjusting some of the bus routes. That could eliminate some smaller bus stops where kids do not have the ability to social distance themselves.
"We've had to expand some of our stops, so some students might be walking a little bit farther to a stop than they did last year," Martin said.
Parents are encouraged to self-screen their children. Staff is expected to do the same.
"If your student is sick or you think that they might be sick, obviously, please don't send them to school," Martin said.
Protocols are in place for situations when a student may be symptomatic on the bus.
"If there is a suspected issue, we'll obviously go to the school once we get the student to the school," Martin said.
Martin says WCSD has enough drivers to get the job done when school starts but it is still in the process of hiring more drivers.Â
"We still are hiring but we still don't have enough," Martin said. "We are about 35 short of what we had before. To begin the year, we are in good shape but as time goes on, as students begin to ride the bus again, because some may not, we may find that we're going to have some limitations."
Drivers are incorporating extra time into their runs because delays are expected as a result of the new rules. Martin says the first week or two will offer some time for the drivers and students to get used to the process, which is typical in any year. As the school year moves forward, there could be some additional changes.
"We've got to be flexible," Martin said. "We're going to have to work with a lot of different variables but as we get through it, we know that we're confident that within a short period of time, we'll have a good handle on it."
Parents whose children plan on taking the bus are encouraged to register online so the school district has time to plan. So far, about 7,500 students are registered. So sign up, click on the link.
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