OLATHE, Kan. — After more than a year of discussions centering around the Olathe Public Schools district bell schedule changes, staff and parents provided a final recommendation on what the district should do.
The discussion began because of a significant shortage of bus drivers.
VOICE FOR EVERYONE | Share your voice with KSHB 41’s Megan Abundis
District officials said the study and the discussion for the bell changes were due to many challenges.
This includes:
- packed buses with 65-70 students per bus;
- low availability for out-of-town trips;
- rolling blackouts for pay-ride bus routes;
- middle and high school students being combined on the same bus;
- one driver serving more than one bus route for the same school;
- GenEd and SpEd routes arriving later than the published stop time
There were many interventions done for the 2023-24 school year, as well as months of work, research and study groups done by staff and parents to tackle the problem.
The interventions included eliminating payride services for middle school and high school subtends, and eliminating field trip requests, among other things.
Staff and families from the district heard an option Thursday night that could take effect next fall.
KSHB 41's Megan Abundis has been following this closely, talking with many families about the changes.
Currently, there are 148 school bus drivers for the 2023 school year.
One of the plans the district is considering is called "Option A." The district said that in order for it to work, it would need 10 more drivers.
In a survey, staff and parents recommended the board vote to adopt the following bell schedule for the 2024-25 school year:
- High schools and Prairie Learning Center — 7:40 a.m. to 2:40 p.m.
- Middle schools and Heartland Early Childhood Center — 8:20 a.m. to 3:20 p.m.
- Elementary schools — 8:55 a.m.-3:55 p.m.
An additional round of surveys have been going on since September.
The district says "Option A" is the least disruptive to their system.
The input from secondary students and survey data from staff and parents support this option.
The district said this will be a long-term solution to address the labor market in the transportation industry and shows beneficial financial savings annually on a three-tier schedule.
Their recommendation came about because of the minimal changes in teacher contract days, and dismissal times at all three levels would change by just 20 minutes or less.
Below are how much the dismissal times would change at all three levels:
- High school: 20 minutes
- Middle school: 10 minutes
- Elementary: 15 minutes
The district said this maintains current programming without significant adjustments.
This year, because of the lack of drivers, Jill Head and her neighbors didn’t have a school bus to get their kids to middle school, so they worked out a carpool.
Head has a sixth grader in the district.
“The bus stop has been at the end of the street,” Head said. “We’ve lived here for 15 years — it’s always been there, who would have thought it would go away.”
She’s been a part of the Olathe parent feedback discussions, trying to find the right bell schedule option.
“I know for the middle school and high school level, that was important for after-school activities,” she said.
Even her daughter spoke up about it at a board meeting over the summer.
“I’m here to talk about the [how] change in bussing affects students’ health safety, as well as their parents,” Gracelyn, head's daughter, said.
Head gave her feedback on the final "Option A."
“School starts at 7:50 now. With the new schedule, she would start at 8:20,” Head said. “I think the biggest change will be for elementary parents. As a middle school parent, it doesn’t seem all that different.”
She says they are ready for stability and some independence.
“Knowing the bus is coming, and it’s dependable, and you know, it will be there, will make a huge difference,” she said.
An Olathe School Board vote to adopt this new schedule is scheduled for December; this schedule change wouldn’t take effect until fall of 2024.
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