School bus drivers press board over unsafe facilities, aging fleet as year begins

School bus drivers and residents told the Green Local School District Board of Education on Monday that the district’s temporary transportation site and aging bus fleet left drivers without basic facilities and created safety risks as the year began. Board members said they would take the complaints to district administration.

Drivers described repeated operational failures and daily safety hazards that they said are interfering with student transport. "Every morning, we put up to 77 kids on a 30,000 pound 40 foot long bread box on wheels, and we drive them through kamikaze traffic," school bus driver Sonia Wells said. "If we can do that, surely this district can manage to provide us with bathrooms, offices, and respect."

The complaints focused on three main problems: a temporary staging location behind a vacant FedEx building that drivers called insecure and without lighting or restrooms; an aging fleet that left only two spare buses on some days; and insufficient staffing that forced supervisors and mechanics to drive routes. "We did in fact run out of buses today," Wells said, describing a bus running its route with alarms sounding and another with a door that would not close properly. Former driver Lisa Schaeffer described slipping on ice while performing required pre-trip checks and said she sustained injuries that ended her driving career.

Resident Rick Edwards told the board the lot used this summer was "an unsecured lot with no lighting" and asked what the district planned to do when weather worsened. Several commenters said handlers were receiving route sheets outdoors at a card table during rain, and that supervisors had to cross to the high school to use restrooms.

Board members acknowledged the concerns and said they would raise them with district administration. "We will look into them and we'll discuss this with the administration to get you guys the things that you need," a board member said, adding that the district is working with the city on a permanent transportation facility and that interim issues would be addressed. The board did not take formal action during the meeting.

The speakers asked the board to consider reassigning bond funds and to accelerate planning for a permanent facility; they also asked for clearer communication about staffing and spare-bus availability. The district previously announced plans for a new transportation facility; at the meeting a board member said planning and property issues complicated timelines but that progress was being made.

The public comments also raised enforcement questions about motorists who illegally pass stopped school buses. Board members referred to camera footage collected by the district and discussed publicizing that the district will turn evidence over to law enforcement to discourage violations.

The board said it would follow up with administration and report back at a future meeting.