The Prince George’s County school system is hopeful this school year will be much different from the last when it comes to transporting students to and from schools.
While still not at full capacity in terms of bus driver staffing, the school system has rolled out a new transportation plan it hopes will lead to fewer issues for families that need help getting kids to class.
“This year, our theme in terms of transportation is about progress, not perfection,” said Prince George’s County Superintendent Millard House.
House said the goal is to get better and better as the plan is implemented over three years.
One big change is the modification of start and stop times for schools. Last year the school system had 15 different start and stop times, this year there are only three.
“Imagine 15 different start times, 206 different schools across the district, you can imagine that that’s a difficult feat to schedule and consistently have in place,” House said.
The school district also reduced the number of routes this school year due to the shortage of drivers.
“This will help us be that much more dependable” House said.
As of the first day of school only 74% of the county’s bus driver positions were filled, so another element of the plan is a partnership with a transportation contractor that will help fill the gaps.
When it comes to attracting more drivers, Keba Baldwin, transportation director for the school system, said while the district is not offering salaries above market rate, he hopes summers off and a schedule that matches those of school children may convince some parents to start driving buses.
“While we are advertising a market starting rate, over time our staff do very well. Our retention rate is high,” Baldwin said.
The county also provides CDL training for drivers, though one problem has been some drivers going through the training on the school system’s dime then using that to get a better paying job elsewhere.
Communication, according to Baldwin, is also key, and in addition to robocalls, emails and text messages, parents and students can use the Stopfinder app to track buses.
Baldwin said all bus lots now have a dedicated communications staffer who can help communicate any changes.
While both House and Baldwin admit there will most likely be some issues on the first day, the plan is to start evaluating things on day 10.
“That gives us a better picture of who’s riding the bus and who’s not,” Baldwin said.
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