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Sweet Home proposes consolidated 6–12 bus runs, new bell times and 0.25-mile walking radius to free four runs
Summary
The district’s building use committee recommended new bell schedules, combining grades 6–12 on the same buses and a 0.25-mile walking radius that staff say would free one elementary bus run per building and help address a persistent driver shortage.
The Sweet Home Central School District building use committee presented a proposal to the Board of Education seeking wholesale changes to bus runs and school bell times to address a driver shortage and the contractual requirement to add 15 minutes of student instruction in 2025–26.
The committee recommended that grades 6–12 ride the same buses, that middle and high school schedules align (high school instructional start 7:19 a.m.; middle school instructional start 7:40 a.m.; middle school day end at 2:24 p.m.; high school end at 2:05 p.m.), and that all four elementary schools move to a single elementary start at 8:55 a.m. with staggered in-school departure leading to bus departures at about 3:15 p.m. Staff said the proposed changes would reduce the number of runs from four to three and create efficiencies for afternoon after-school routes.
Why it matters: District leaders said the changes respond to a “crisis-level” driver shortage and to a new teacher contract that requires 15 additional minutes of instructional time for every student in 2025–26. The plan aims to free drivers now assigned to temporary duties (mechanic or front-office driving) and to reduce contracted transportation costs by recovering runs.
Key elements of the proposal - Combined middle/high runs: Staff proposed a single morning and afternoon run that picks up grades 6–12 together and drops them first at the high school, then at the middle school, then delivers elementary runs. The district said 6–12 stops align closely and combining them fills buses more efficiently. - Walking radius: The committee proposed a 0.25-mile walking radius for elementary students; staff said that change would free one bus run per elementary building (four runs total). Officials said they would notify affected families and provide at least two notices when assignments are made. - Instructional-minute adjustments: Staff said the middle school and high school would gain additional minutes (a two-minute period increase in middle/high period length) to meet the contract requirement; presenters gave examples of contact-time increases from about 6 hours 29 minutes to 6 hours 44 minutes for secondary students and from about 6:15 to 6:30 for elementary teachers. - After-school runs: The plan would free drivers to restore after-school routes at levels closer to pre-COVID service.
Driver shortage and contracting costs - Presenters described ongoing recruitment difficulties. Scott Kennedy, director of transportation, told the board that driver retirements outpaced hires and that the district has roughly the same number of drivers it had 3½ years ago while the student population is up about 700. - Staff discussed contract tradeoffs: contracted transportation firms are also understaffed regionally, and privately contracted drivers sometimes receive higher pay and sign-on bonuses. Presenters noted that contractors currently offer roughly $32–$34 per hour and sign-on bonuses (the district reported its starting driver pay in the low-to-mid $20s per hour). The district currently operates a hybrid model and said full contracting would likely increase costs substantially and reduce direct district control over operations.
Board concerns and next steps - Board members raised health and equity questions about secondary start times and cited research suggesting later start times can benefit adolescent sleep and academic outcomes. Staff and committee members said they discussed those studies but cited practical constraints: corner-stop versus door-to-door routing, limited driver and bus fleet capacity, athletic and extracurricular schedules, and the district’s hybrid contracted/in‑house model. - Board members asked for a map overlay of the proposed quarter-mile walking radius for each elementary building; staff said they would produce that map and notify impacted families individually once routes are finalized.
The board did not vote on the proposal; staff said they will publish the proposed times to the public, continue community meetings and PTA/PTO discussions, and invite formal comment at the next board meeting and in February. If the board gives direction, the transportation office will begin detailed route planning and evaluate which contracted runs the district could bring back in-house.
