Ilana Zahavy ’24/Staff
Though in many ways this year marks a return to normalcy, especially as there are more people in the building than ever before, various staffing gaps that appeared during the pandemic continue to widen. Entering September, there were over 3,000 vacant school bus driver positions in Pennsylvania according to ABC News. In LMSD, students in Kindergarten through twelfth grade rely on school buses to travel to and from school every day. The district also outsources buses and drivers to other schools in the area. Thus, the LMSD transportation system reaches over 9,000 students daily, according to the LMSD website, impacting thousands of families with each and every decision.
The pandemic shut down buses from March 2020 until the beginning of the next school year in September. However, that break pushed many older community members to step down from bus driving for retirement or other pursuits. Longtime bus drivers for the district took the pandemic as a signal to settle down, leaving more vacancies than expected. Unfortunately, given factors like the low pay, poor conditions, and long hours, the job itself isn’t coveted, and districts like LM are struggling to find qualified willing candidates.
Shawn McMurtry • Oct 6, 2022 at 11:57 AM
With a little creativity, LMSD could reduce busing needs… 1. Add baseball/ softball to Arnold Field and Amherst Field at Bala Cynwyd Middle School so students can play ball AT school. 2. Create a shuttle loop that stops at satellite parking lots (at defunct retail/ warehouses) and at train and bus stops. This would reduce the parking footprint at schools! 3. Convert parking lots to sports fields at schools (and stack parking).
While reducing reliance on bus drivers, these measures would enable teachers and students to take advantage of public transportation (the very reason best feature of The Main Line), while reducing their own commuting costs and the impact on roads and our environment!