Local government leaders are searching for solutions that would allow for East End students to continue to ride the bus to school when classes start on Wednesday.
Henderson County Schools sent out a letter dated July 31 informing parents that there would be no bus service for students living within the areas from Sand Lane to Washington Street and Alvasia Street to Atkinson Street.
“This area will now become a walker area, meaning students living in that area can either walk to school or be dropped off as a car rider,” said the letter signed by Superintendent Dr. Bob Lawson.
The letter said that the decision was made because the HCS transportation department is “facing a significant shortage of school bus drivers.”
“We are actively searching for individuals who are willing to join our team as bus drivers,” the letter said.
Henderson County Judge-Executive Brad Schneider said the county road department has an employee who until recently had been a bus driver with the school system. He said county government is pursuing ways to allow this employee to drive students to school in the morning and home in the afternoon while still working for the county in-between those bus routes.
“We’re trying,” he said. “We’re seeing what we can do.”
The city is also looking at ways to help. Henderson Mayor Brad Staton said a meeting has been scheduled for Monday in which city officials, including City Manager Buzzy Newman and Project Manager Dylan Ward, will meet with Lawson and Wes Alexander, the director of transportation for HCS, to discuss ways in which the city can help.
Staton said the city is also short-staffed, so he didn’t know if the city would be able to provide any assistance, or what it may look like.
