CCSD still working on transportation policy

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

The Charles City School Board’s Facilities Committee is still working on tweaks to the district’s student transportation options.

The committee, including Superintendent Brian Burnight, Director of Operations Jerry Mitchell, and board members Bruce Koebrick and Dr. David Schrodt, met on Wednesday, April 30.

A lack of available bus drivers, not just for morning and afternoon commutes but particularly for school activities, is an ongoing struggle for the district resulting in strained schedules and an abundance of overtime.

Along with a lack of drivers, the district is also in need of aides to supervise students on the bus. While buses do have cameras that can be viewed after the fact, an aide can address unruly behavior in the moment that a driver focusing on the road cannot.

At the same time, while the district struggles to maintain the routes it has, the committee is also looking for solutions to better facilitate students getting to and from school.

This year the district eliminated in-town pickup and dropoff for elementary students who live within two miles of their school and older students within three miles. While the Comet 3 shuttle does accommodate pickups and dropoffs at various points in town, the change has resulted in more students walking.

For some of those students, that means crossing Gilbert Street’s multi-lane intersection twice a day, a prospect that makes the board, and presumably parents, nervous.

“If we can find a way to get the kids across the highway, that’s the biggest concern,” said Koebrick.

It’s not known how yet, but the district will be looking into options to make sure kids that live in that area of the city can safely get to school and back home.