After shifting all students to remote learning last week due to a lack of transportation staff, the Toledo School District was able to return to in-person schooling on Monday with a “hybrid” bus schedule.
“If you are able to transport your child to school on Monday, please do so. Otherwise, please bring your child to an alternate bus stop,” said the Toledo School District in a message to families Friday afternoon.
The district called all families with students who regularly ride the bus on Thursday to gauge how many of them were able to find alternative transport for their children in the event the district’s transportation department is short staffed. If most of the regular bus riders could be taken to and from school by family or neighbors, then the school district could adjust its bus routes to only pick up the students with no other way to get to school.
The school district received enough responses from families to develop three “hybrid routes,” each with two to four bus stops, that can be handled by a small group of bus drivers.
“We will continue on hybrid routes until transportation is fully staffed again,” said the district, adding that families should assume the district will return to the regular bus routes starting on Tuesday unless they hear otherwise.
The Toledo School District had to shift to remote learning last week after three of its nine bus drivers tested positive for COVID-19 on Jan. 17. Under the new guidance from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, those drivers had to quarantine for at least five days, leaving the district unable to operate its standard bus routes.
“The school district is responsible to provide a full day of instruction for each student. We aren't allowed to offer instruction only to the kids who can get to school on their own steam or who are fortunate enough to have neighbors to help transport them. Toledo Schools doesn't exclude anyone,” Superintendent Chris Rust said in a message to parents announcing the shift last week.
The creation of the hybrid routes gives the district another step it can take before shifting to remote learning if a situation like this happens again, the district told families on Monday.
