As shared with our community in mid-May, the Meeker School District is facing a critical shortage of bus drivers. This shortage is most significant with our route drivers.
In the past five years we have reduced routes from six to four and absorbed the two eliminated routes with the four existing routes. While doing so has allowed us to generally maintain the same routes, these changes reduce efficiency, increase crowding on buses, and lengthen the amount of time students are on the bus. If we are unable to attract individuals to drive routes, we may need to make further changes. Those changes may include, but are not limited to:
• Additional route adjustments and/or combinations
• Elimination of certain stops, beginning with in-town stops
• Elimination of certain routes that would not be absorbed by remaining routes
• Implementing age limitations for students to ride buses
• Complete elimination of bus routes
We do not wish to make any of the more drastic changes listed above, but we need help from our community. If you, or someone you know is interested in driving a route, please contact the Meeker School District Transportation Director, Melissa Woodward, at [email protected] or 970-878-9080.
The school district will provide training and pay for the time required to complete training if interested individuals do not already possess a CDL with a school bus endorsement. We just need willing individuals who are safe drivers.
By MSD Superintendent Chris Selle
