The zones are expected to impact students at all grade levels who use the bus for transportation.
The zones are focused on those neighborhoods and residences that are in close proximity to each campus to make up for the shortfall of drivers, said Steve Stanford, assistant superintendent of communications and organizational alignment for CISD.
The district is anticipating 12-14 bus routes will be cut from service. For those within affected areas, parents will be able to drop off elementary students at 7 a.m., middle school students at 7:15 a.m. and high school students at 7:30 a.m.
“Starting last January we were in a situation where we didn't have enough bus drivers to fill in as substitute drivers, so if the driver was sick to take a day off,” Stanford said. “Then all of a sudden we were left without a route. What we ended up doing was these rolling cancellations. We were averaging four to six routes a week that were being canceled,” he said.
Stanford said the district determined the cancellation of these routes for the school year would be preferred to the rolling cancellations the district implemented last school year.
Parents who want to know if they now reside in a no service zone can go to the district’s transportation website.
Anyone wanting to apply to become a bus driver for the district can begin the process here. Starting pay is $16.16 per hour, and and anyone with a commercial driver’s license that has a P&S endorsement receives a $1,500 incentive.
