Remember Plan A and Plan B days? They were used incessantly, then suddenly stopped. Does that mean the transportation issues we were having are fixed?
Unfortunately, no, it doesn’t. It’s been a while since there’s been a need for a Plan A or Plan B schedule, but that doesn’t mean Marion City Schools is completely rid of bussing issues. Lately, complications have been getting in the way of extracurricular activities, such as field trips and sports events.
French teacher Madame Kemp was excited to escort many of her students to an international film festival in Cleveland, where kids would be able to watch French films and interact with a French director or cinematographer. Unfortunately, the trip was canceled due to difficulties with securing a bus, much to the dismay of Kemp and her students.
“It was upsetting,” Gaige Oliver, a French student who would’ve gone on the field trip, says. “Me and my friends were looking forward to it all week.”
Kemp was also disappointed. “Mostly for the kids,” she explains, “because [they] were really looking forward to it.” It also took a lot of work on her end to organize the trip, and to see her own efforts put to waste was disheartening. Kemp had to write a grant proposal to pay for the bus, wait for it to be approved, acquire tickets for the students, attend a professional development for teachers on a Saturday, and reserve 30 seats at a local French restaurant, where the field-trippers were to have lunch. Kemp later had to cancel reservations, frustrated at having to bail on the small business owner.
On the day of the field trip, MCS simply couldn’t spare an extra driver for the journey to and from Cleveland. Every bus driver was needed in order to transport students back home from school.
Similar issues are occurring with sporting events. In order to make sure student athletes make it to their games, matches, and meets, some buses leave at drastically early times. Recently, a bus for a track meet left Harding at 10:55am, though the meet didn’t start for another six hours.
Sean Kearns, Harding Athletic Director, collaborates days in advance with the schools that host sports events, who do their best to accommodate Harding’s early arrival by giving athletes a place indoors to wait for the event to start. Kearns acknowledges that MCS is not the only district with these problems, and says we are being just as flexible for sporting events hosted here.
Even though transportation difficulties still occur and are getting in the way of some of the more enjoyable aspects of school, a shorter-term solution has been created to alleviate the toll on school hours. Brett Payne recently took over as Transportation Supervisor, and in collaboration with Jason Heilman (Transportation Program Administrator from the Ohio Department of Education), MCS administration, and, as Payne puts it, “our amazing bus drivers,” a solution was able to be brought to life.
Changes were made that compiled bus routes, sometimes making students who rode one bus to school ride a different one home－ and get dropped off at the same stop, of course. As a result of compiling routes, some buses reached their full capacity for students. It may not be comfortable, but at least everyone who needs a ride has a ride.
A change was also made to how Tri-Rivers students were transported. Before, a separate bus picked up kids and took them directly to Tri-Rivers in the mornings, but now Tri-Rivers students get on a bus with Harding kids, wait at Harding for a specific bus to unload, then are taken to Tri-Rivers.
These changes are not ideal, but no Plan A or Plan B days have been used since the plan was implemented. This plan is intended to be used for the rest of the school year.
Many people within the Marion community continue to express their gratitude for MCS’s extremely hard-working bus drivers. “Our bus drivers have been the biggest help throughout this process,” Payne says. “[They] continue to amaze me every day with their teamwork…and willingness to go above and beyond for the students.” Shoutout to every MCS bus driver! Your work is greatly appreciated; you do not go unnoticed!