After the Washoe County School District announced bus schedule changes that will impact most students starting on February 22nd, the school district answered some questions regarding the changes.
Some people say the school district's staffing issues would be resolved if open positions paid more money.
"Wages have increased in other areas, other sectors over the last one to two years. And unfortunately the district is not, the school district is not able to keep up with that and provide competitive wages." Superintendent Kristen McNeill responded. "We are going to continue to advocate and work with the state to explore everything we can for increased funding."
McNeill said much of the discussion will continue at the next legislative session.
To alleviate the problem of staffing shortages, the WCSD has been offering hiring incentives for bus drivers. It's also been holding job fairs on occasions. However, because efforts have failed to find employees the school district had to cut some bus routes for middle and high school students. On the first day back from winter break, bus stops were eliminated for about 12,000 students. Students affected had to go to nearby elementary schools or bus hubs, which consist of public spaces.
The school district's next course of action involved turning to charter buses. It's a decision WCSD has received criticism for. Many people say the money going to charter buses could be used to increase school bus driver wages. And with so many current vacancies at the school district, many people are wondering where the money is going.
Pete Etchart, WCSD's Chief Operating Officer responded to those concerns and said, "The money you're seeing, what you're talking about is some of the salary savings the district may have because its short so many people... But I mean we can't really use that for the long-term. That's not really sustainable to say, well pay what employees are left. You can't really find sustainability in this. And that could only happen with the state."
Some residents wanted to know why a state of emergency hasn't been declared so the National Guard can be utilized to help with the current situation. McNeill said, WCSD has met with Major General Ondra Berry, who is serving as The Adjutant General for the State of Nevada.
McNeill said, " At this point in time that does not seem to be something that we're able to do, utilize the national guard in this particular area."
You can read the original story here:Â WCSD Suspending Bus Routes 'One Week at a Time' Due to Driver Shortage | News | 2news.com
