A photograph which seems to depict dozens of crammed school children on a bus, with many of them sitting on the floor in the aisle, has been passed around social media over the past 20 hours. The photo has the caption, “My daughter’s bus with middle and high schoolers right now.” (see below)
A call was placed into the voicemail of the Superintendent at 10:30am this morning, for a comment on the situation. Unfortunately, it was not until noon when the call was returned by Kelby Turmail, the Communications Officer for the district who stated that the Superintendent and the Transportation Director had not yet spoken regarding the matter, and that the Superintendent was stepping into an unrelated meeting and was not able to provide any information. When asked if this was a priority for MCCSC, Turmail responded, “I am not sure,” and followed that she would have to reach out to them.
MCCSC has been plagued with transportation related problems for several years. Over the past few years, being able to hire and sustain school bus drivers seems to be the biggest problem. Tonight, the School Board will vote on potentially changing school starting times, even moving half of the elementary schools back to 9:30am starts, in hopes that this will remedy the apparent challenge of a driver shortage.
The bus driver shortage is a national issue, with some districts having administrators accept driving responsibilities, some are calling in the National Guard, and others are working through the reasons why the job has lost appeal . . . largely believed to be low pay and poor working conditions. Regardless of the rationale, communication with all parties, including parents of school-aged students, is imperative.
UPDATE 1:50pm
Kelby Turmail, MCCSC Communications Officer, reached out to the South Central Indiana News Network believing that she was misquoted, stating that she had offered the following information:
“I know the Superintendent and the Director of Transportation are looking into this situation”. “But that I’m not sure of the updates and that I would follow up with them”.
***this story will be updated as more information becomes available
