Every winter I’m asked, “Who decides when we have a snow day?” or “Can I join the snow day team?” I certainly understand the interest. It’s an exclusive group of four highly trained and qualified.
Earlier this fall, residents of the Eagle River Village Mobile Home community started a petition to relocate a school bus stop over safety concerns. Now, the Eagle County School District is working with the families.
The local district received an outpouring of public comments during the last few weeks over the decision to standardize bell times across grade levels. This decision is intended to counteract the district’s bus driver shortage.
Special to the Daily
School bus drivers are the first district employees to greet students in the morning and the last to say goodbye. However, after battling a bus driver shortage for most of the year, students may be greeted by their bus driver at a different time next year.
Currently, the district has 18 drivers on staff but requires a team of 35 to effectively serve the needs of its students. And while Eagle County Schools has implemented a number of recruiting and retaining efforts including adding a hiring and retention bonus and making increases to the base salary it is still having a difficult time filling these positions.