Millcreek school buses are often overcrowded, late. Changing start times could fix it

Some Millcreek Township School District students have a two-hour bus ride home after classes.

Some buses routinely are 30 to 40 minutes late picking up students.

And tempers are flaring among middle school and high school students jammed three to a seat on buses, resulting in increased behavioral incidents.

The underlying issue is that there aren't enough drivers to keep buses running on time and under capacity. The school district has been consolidating bus routes as the number of drivers shrink. And that's led to pick-up and drop-off delays, overcrowding, and long bus rides, particularly for students transported to and from special-needs programs elsewhere in the county.

Now the district has another plan.

"It should mean better service all around for our families," assistant schools Superintendent Trevor Murnock said in briefing school directors on May 13.

The plan to rearrange school bus schedules

School officials are proposing a three-tiered transportation system this fall.

That means that buses would go out in three waves each morning and afternoon ― for high school students, then middle school students, and finally for elementary school riders.

"We can operate with less drivers because we're not running to all of the middle schools and high schools at the same time," Murnock said.

The district currently operates a two-tiered system, for middle/high school and elementary students.

Separate runs for middle school and high school students will eliminate overcrowding on the buses.

"We should be able to normalize the numbers. Instead of having 72 children on a bus we can have 48 or 52 or something much more appropriate," Murnock said.

The system also should help buses run on time and reduce travel times, especially for students transported to special programs or private schools.

School hours would change

Middle school and high school schedules would need to be adjusted to accommodate the proposed transportation system.

High school students would start the school day at 7:30 a.m., or 20 to 25 minutes earlier than they do now. Most students already are at school at that time but are waiting on buses until they can enter the building, Murnock said.

Middle school students would start at 8:05 a.m. That's 15 minutes later than this year.

Dismissal times would change accordingly.

Elementary school schedules would not change.

Bus driver shortage: Lack of drivers in Erie is causing some pickup and drop-off delays

Bus driver shortage is nationwide issue

Bus drivers have been in short supply for some years — in Millcreek, the Erie region and nationwide.

"It got a lot worse during COVID. It's still bad," Murnock said.

Millcreek Township School District ideally would have 80 to 82 school bus routes and even more drivers — to compensate for drivers who are unavailable — to serve 6,069 students who ride buses to and from school.

"On any given day there might be two drivers out sick, one on bereavement and another on medical leave," Murnock said.

The district had 75 bus routes in 2022-23 and only 73 drivers at most.

The number of bus routes was reduced to 70 at the start of this school year and to 65 mid-year. Some days, only 60 drivers were available.

With the three-tiered system, the district expects to run 66 routes this fall.

"The increased marketing and the efforts that everyone from our communications department through our transportation department and First Student and their work in recruiting and retaining drivers is bearing some fruit. We are trending up, which is great to see," Murnock said.

First Student is a private company paid to provide district transportation services.

When will a decision be made?

Millcreek school directors are expected to vote on the proposed transportation plan at their May 28 business meeting.

A prompt vote will allow the district to begin informing parents of the changes, Murnock said.

"This is a big decision, and parents need to know," Murnock said.

Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: New Millcreek school start times would reduce school bus tardiness