WILMINGTON, Ohio -- The Wilmington City School District has been facing a transportation issue this year with several problems conflating to create a knot that interim superintendent Tim Dettwiller and the school board aim to untie with a new incentive plan to fill staffing vacancies.
With two drivers out with long-term illnesses and a shortage of substitute bus drivers forcing the garage mechanic and dispatcher to take up the slack, there have also been issues communicating and with mechanical errors, sans dispatcher and mechanic to fulfill their normal duties.
The problem mounts when paired with the 1,200 students transported each day and drivers trekking 2,209 miles, the 38th largest landmass district in 609 districts in Ohio, which is a lot of mileage for the 33 drivers -- 23 of whom live within the district.
To exacerbate issues, two bus routes were cut over the past two years for cost-cutting measures. All of these issues compiled, forcing buses to run at an average of 80% capacity, which doesn't seem like a problem until you recognize how long it takes to drop off a busload of kids, according to district officials.
Detwiller introduced an incentive plan at October's school board meeting aiming to gain and retain bus drivers. The plan will be ratified at the upcoming school board meeting, as a more extensive version of an incentive plan that expired in June, and will provide bonuses and incentives based on qualifications and licensures.
"We are grossly understaffed right now for what we're trying to do," said Detwiller at the October school board meeting. "So we have high expectations from the transportation department to meet pickup times, delivery times, rider safety, all those things, but we're understaffed. So we have to address that problem."
Thus far the plan has produced results, according to Detwiller, with interviews underway to fill the vacancies.
"We have had four individuals interview for driver positions in the last week," said Detwiller in an email to the News Journal. "We believe our driver recruiting plan is already making an impact."
The incentive plan presented at October's school board meeting provided tiers for qualifications and time spent as a bus driver, with applicants who have experience, a CDL (Commercial Driver License), or an ODE (Ohio Department of Education) certificate receiving bonuses after a set number of days.
Detwiller proposed that new drivers, without qualifications (such as a CDL or ODE certification) will receive $500 after 90 days, another $500 after six months, and another $500 after one year. Prospective drivers with experience, a CDL, and no ODE certificate will receive $750 after 90 days, $500 after six months, and $500 after a year. Drivers with experience, a CDL, and an ODE certificate will receive $1,000 after 90 days, $750 after six months, and another $750 after one year.
Whether or not this plan will solve issues long-term is yet to be known, but with it in place, Wilmington looks to solve a problem facing several districts across Ohio with other districts being fined by the Ohio Department of Education for failing to meet transportation standards, including districts in Columbus and Dayton, among several others.
According to Ohio law, schools are "out of compliance" if students arrive at school more than 30 minutes late or are picked up more than 30 minutes after dismissal. Though filling positions to resolve these issues can be a finite resource problem, with many districts facing these issues, the pool of prospective drivers runs thin within and around the district.
"When somebody drives for their school, they live down the street. And because they attend those events, they wanna be able to take their own teams," said Detwiller. "So, yeah, it's a struggle to pay from another district because they have the same problems."