On behalf of your school district, you are cordially invited to attend an information meeting at the Big Sandy High School on 6/22/23. This meeting will focus on the upcoming school year and the lack of bus drivers for our transportation routes. During this past year the school district has continually advertised and recruited bus drivers with little to no success. Additionally, the routes were put out to bid in May and no bids were received.
If the school district does not have bus drivers, we will have no choice but to offer individual transportation contracts to our families with students who ride the bus. You would be paid to transport your child at the state reimbursement rate per mile in transporting your child to and from school.
We will also discuss employment incentives, including a cash bonus paid to each driver who successfully receives their CDL bus endorsement. The training process will be discussed as we are fortunate to partner with Havre Public School District in providing the training that is necessary to receive a CDL with the proper bus endorsement. .
While I had sincerely hoped prospective employees would have stepped forward during the time that bus driving positions have continually been advertised, that is not our reality. And while I had hoped that others would bid on our transportation routes, that did not come to pass either.
As such, we will meet to discuss the issue, the ramifications that could negatively impact our student attendance, ANB funding, and the possible impact of those cuts to our budget and programming.
I welcome all to come out and to listen and to help be a part of working together for a viable and longstanding solution. I hope and trust that we can be respectful regarding this issue and how we can work together for the benefit of our students, their families, and ultimately our school.
Please join us on Thursday, June 22nd, at 7:00 pm, in the computer lab/board room at the high school to discuss these matters as a community focused on finding workable solutions. Big Sandy, this is your opportunity to meaningfully contribute and to be a positive influence for our students and your school district.
I look forward to working with you and describing our situation honestly with those who care very much about our students and our school district.
