Keystone Schools relies on parents for athletic transportation due to bus driver shortage

LaGRANGE — Some Keystone students' families are being asked to drive their children to away games for athletics while the district searches for bus driver replacements. The district had three bus driver resignations on its Board of Education agenda earlier this month. Superintendent Dan White said two drivers who had often covered trips for away games were part of those resignations. The lack of drivers prompted the district to look to parents and families to fill the temporary transportation gap. Bus drivers can bid on and pick up the afterschool sporting trips, he said, but are not contractually obligated to drive for them. "I'm sure it has caused issues for families," White said. "We (the district) don't like it … I don't want it. I can't force (bus drivers) to take the trips." He said there have been community members, including retired bus drivers and the assistant baseball coach, who have stepped in to fill on some trips, and the district is also looking at charter bus options. White said the district has hired one new driver and is screening two additional applicants, leaving him hopeful things will improve. Driver pay rate, according to the schools' most recent contract, starts at $17.06 per hour. White said a memorandum of understanding was offered to raise that wage by $2 per hour but was recently rejected by the union. Its current contract between Keystone Schools and the Ohio Association of Public School Employees Local 434 runs through June 30, 2025. He said the district has 13 buses and 10 routes during regular school hours. While transportation was still an issue in the fall, spring sports have made it harder for Keystone Schools to find coverage, he said. Baseball and softball games are canceled or rescheduled more often than football, he said, and because there are few other lacrosse teams in the county, the Wildcats must travel out of the area to compete. Families who transport their own students — or their teammates — are not compensated, he said, and there is a liability waiver they must sign. Parents reached out to The Chronicle-Telegram and expressed concerns about the change. Neither were willing to speak on the record for fear of retaliation, they said. Those interested in driving a bus for Keystone Schools as a permanent or substitute driver can contact Transportation Supervisor Therese Jackson at therese.jackson@keystoneschools.org or at (440) 355 2411 or online. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.