Castaic Union School District administrators updated the governing board last week about how the district is planning on addressing the transportation issue following the decision to no longer provide home-to-school transportation for the remainder of the school year due to staff shortages and personnel matters.
At the end of April, Castaic district families were notified via ParentSquare that the district could no longer provide general education students with home-to-school transportation.
Irene Boden, assistant superintendent of business and administrative services, said the district had been openly discussing the issue for some time now with parents and has been updating them along the way during meetings as the department navigates the unforeseen circumstances.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Boden reported to the board how the district will be moving forward with the situation in preparation for the next school year.
Boden “reported that she and her team are actively researching and evaluating long-term solutions to help resolve the district’s ongoing bus driver shortage. She emphasized the department’s commitment to finding sustainable options that will support the transportation needs of students and families,” read an emailed statement provided by Charmin Ortega, executive assistant to the superintendent.
Boden said in a previous phone interview that the district had a total of seven bus drivers at the beginning of the school year but, due to personnel issues, the district is now down to two bus drivers with the potential of a third after the new driver completes the training process, but it isn’t enough to reopen all the routes.
Before spring break, approximately in February, she said the district began telling families about the transportation issues coming up because the number of staff was reducing and it could affect transportation.
In April, they had two more bus drivers leave and that is when the district had to make the decision to divert the only remaining drivers to the special education students, who are prioritized under the California Education Code.
