The school district recently made a change regarding which students will be offered bus rides and which will not. Do you think the school district is handling the situation in the correct way? If not, what could the district be doing to address the current bus driver shortage? 

When asked by a reporter this question about the school bus transportation situation, this was Ken's written response.

No. the busing challenges were allowed to be addressed as an emergency policy change. It should have been addressed sooner, as the shortage of drivers has been for over two years. It was not a stretch to see the problem would not self resolve. The Board should have insisted on it being addressed sooner. The current policy is less safe, creates a poorer learning environment for the students and teaching environment for staff, particularly at Horizon. On October 10 the Board voted unanimously to allow a third wave of pickups at Horizon for almost 200 students. This problem will not go away with such a short term solution to a long term problem. The clear remedy is renegotiating the contracts for drivers to have a more competitive advantage, rather than an ever widening disadvantage. The superintendent has told me the statute says 2 miles walk maximum. Seems he is satisfied with doing the minimum for the district instead of seeking to do the best. That legislative statute maximum was designed for rural areas. I am convinced he has no intention of pushing to get the number of drivers back to where it was two years ago. This is 2022, not 1922. I will advocate for a policy that will force the administration's hand. If this is truly an emergency, then the large unrestricted rainy day fund in the operating budget can be tapped. The Board and administration have failed the district on this issue.