The possibility of parents volunteering to ride on Wilson County Schools buses as aides could take place, WCS Transportation Director Kenny Hardaway told the WCS board at their meeting Monday night.
Board member Joe Padilla suggested the idea to Hardaway, who spoke during WCS Director Jeff Luttrell’s report to the board.
Any details on such a parent serving as a bus aide have not been determined.
“Having (a bus full of) elementary or middle school students on a bus can make it overwhelming,” Hardaway said. “Maybe having an aide on a bus could make it less overwhelming. Having 78 to 90 kids is a daunting task.”
Last year, the district started the year with 17 open routes. This year, it started with seven open routes, Hardaway said.
WCS currently has three open routes in both the morning and afternoon and two open morning-only routes. There are 13 drivers in training.
At the end of the last school year, the transportation department “took a deep dive into the routes,” Hardaway told the board. “We dissolved 25 routes, where we needed to in order to clean it up make (the bus plans) more efficient.”
Last year, there were 313 downed runs, equaling 78 routes. This year, there have been 543 downed runs, equaling 136 routes.
Part of the issue with that has been illness which has affected drivers during the last semester, Hardaway said.
Hardaway said he drives a bus almost every day. “If you have a CDL (commercial driver’s license) in my building, you are driving a bus,” he said.
Dr. Beth Meyers asked parents to speak with their students about being “respectful on the bus. Tell them not to use profanity and to show common courtesy. I hope you instill that in your children.”
