Northern Colorado's Poudre School District changes start times to combat bus driver shortage
The Poudre School District, which predominantly serves Fort Collins, announced plans to change school bell times for many schools in an effort to combat their bus driver shortage. A total of 30 different schools will have different bell times next school year after the PSD school board decided to make a change.
PSD Chief Information Officer Madeline Novey said the decision came after a third-party company studied the bussing service and noticed they could be more efficient in their limited staffing if schools adjusted their start times.
"Bus driver shortages are something not only PSD is experiencing, but (so too are) school districts across Colorado and the nation," Novey said.
PSD last adjusted their start times in 2019 after studies showed some age groups learn more when starting earlier in the morning, while other age groups perform better with later start times.
"We recognize that our community may feel some whiplash and some emotion around this decision because bell schedules were changed about five years ago," Novey said.
PSD has increased pay for bus drivers, expanded benefits and even offered to pay for training to become a driver. However, even those offers have not been enough to attract the amount of drivers needed.
"There are days we simply do not have drivers to run their routes," Novey said. "That is not sustainable."
The district currently operates with a roughly $400 million budget. However, the district has also experienced a decline in enrollment, meaning the amount of state funding they receive is also declining.
"If no changes were to be made we would be facing an environment where there would be a real risk of not being able to provide bussing services for all students every day the way we do today," Novey said. "We would have students who would not be able to go to school if they did not have a bus."
Novey said the district will also be able to save between $1 million and $1.5 million by adjusting their routes and pickup times.
"And that is a big deal, folks want to make sure we are living within our means in the district. That is particularly important in a time where we are facing declining enrollment," Novey said.
The PSD board also challenged the district to explore how they can further adjust their bussing practices to assure all students in the district who need a ride to class can get one. By making changes, the district might be able to offer bus services to even students who attend choice-schools.
