Sweet Home trustees review proposed 2025–26 start/stop schedule and bus-routing changes amid driver shortage

Sweet Home Central School District staff and trustees discussed a proposal to change school start and stop times for the 2025–26 school year to accommodate a required 15-minute increase in instructional time and to address an ongoing bus driver shortage.

Superintendent Dr. Genestri and building-use committee members described the proposal as a practical response to a persistent staffing gap in transportation. The district presented a package of changes that would adjust elementary, middle and high school times, maintain a 0.25-mile walking radius for bus eligibility and consolidate some runs so that sixth-through-twelfth-graders would share buses in some routes. The district estimated the 0.25-mile radius would free about one bus per school (four buses total) and said the change would be roughly a five-minute walk for affected families.

Board members and staff framed the proposal as a transportation-first solution. Dr. Genestri said the additional 15 minutes of instruction was a contractual and state-related requirement and that the building-use committee had met repeatedly over 18 months to develop scenarios. "We feel like again with the shortage the way it is and with the incorporation of 15 more minutes, we really felt as a committee that this was a a good solution," a district official said. The committee's membership includes parents, staff, union representatives and administrators, district officials said.

The proposal has drawn public comment: district staff reported 68 respondents to the district's outreach, with a mix of support and opposition. Several board members said they had received direct feedback from parents who worried about early start times, student safety walking to school before daylight, impacts on family work schedules and the prospect of sixth-graders sharing buses with high-school students. Board member Brian (first name only in the record) emphasized that some families said they had not had time to digest the proposal; another member suggested a community survey, though others noted a survey might generate negative responses without presenting alternatives.

District staff said the plan includes mitigation steps: working to expand before-school programming ("just for kids" and other options were discussed), assigning aides to buses where possible, and assuring parents the district would work to route safely and notify families who would be affected by the radius change. On the question of whether the district could raise wages to attract drivers, staff said the shortage is regional and not entirely solvable by pay increases alone; the district has increased hourly wages and tried recruitment through job fairs, marketing and retention bonuses.

The board did not vote on the schedule tonight, but staff asked the board to vote at next week's meeting so routing, notifications and planning for before- and after-school programming can proceed. At the meeting’s close, a member asked, "Is there anybody that's not comfortable voting next week? Alright, then we'll vote on it next week." Staff said detailed routing and stop notification work depends on that vote.

Ending: The board will consider a vote on the proposed 2025–26 start/stop times at its next meeting; if the board approves, staff will begin routing, family notifications and planning for mitigation measures such as before-school care and bus aides.