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Winslow officials report driver shortage, outline new bus‑tracker and alert tools
Summary
The district said it has hired 13 bus drivers but still has about 30 allocated driver positions, described route planning designed to avoid early-year looping, and encouraged families to opt into a new real‑time stop‑finder app and Zone R GPS monitoring to improve communication about delays.
District leaders told the board July 17 that transportation remains constrained by driver shortages even after hiring and that the district is rolling out new communication tools for families.
The presenter said the district hired 13 bus drivers in a recent recruitment push but still shows roughly 30 allocated driver positions districtwide; that hiring does not yet eliminate onboarding steps (CDL testing, training) and the presenter estimated the net open positions remain material. The presenter said the district is developing routes that avoid “looping” at the start of the year (routing where buses return to pick up additional students) and is creating fallback plans if driver availability changes.
To improve parent communication about late buses and location, staff described two tools piloted during summer ESY. The “stop finder” app sends opt‑in real‑time alerts by text and email to subscribers on a particular bus when that bus is running late. The district also has a Zone R GPS monitoring tool that building administrators can use to see a bus’s live location when families call for status. The presenter said pilot feedback was “incredibly positive.”
Board members asked how many actual routes remain unfilled and whether hires immediately eased routing; presenters said that because of onboarding steps and position allocations the simple hired count does not equal routes filled and that routing is being designed conservatively to avoid early disruptions.
The district urged families to download and opt in to the stop‑finder app to receive timelier alerts and said it will continue recruiting for bus drivers, instructional assistants and custodians.
Speakers quoted in this article are listed below.
