Shortage of bus drivers impacts Revere

by Sheldon Ocker

Jan. 10 school board organizational meeting and work session

For the first semester, Revere schools managed to keep all of its bus routes operating despite a widespread shortage of drivers.

However, Superintendent Michael Tefs told the board of education that during a three-week span in December and January, three drivers resigned or took unpaid leaves because of medical problems, forcing the district to cut a bus route.

”We had a difficult winter break in transportation,’’ the superintendent said.

Until then, Tefs said the district was able to “cobble together’’ enough drivers by using the supervisor, a mechanic and substitutes to keep all routes running.

“We were doing a really nice job … but we didn’t plan for this,’’ Tefs said, who added, “We’re going to have to consolidate a route.’’

Tefs said the operations of Route X would be taken up by buses from five other routes.”

“All things considered, as sad as it is that we’re in this space, it’s really a minor change,’’ he said.

According to the superintendent, pickup and drop-off times will change by as little as one minute and a maximum of five minutes.

Tef praised the work of Transportation Supervisor Justin Miller for keeping the driver shortage from having a larger impact.

The superintendent was aiming to begin the change in routes on Jan. 17. He said a video was being made to inform parents, who also would be contacted by email or text.

   Third-grade readers

Tefs told the board that third-graders at Richfield Elementary have lifted their state reading scores three years in row, from 59% in 2021, to 69% in spring 2022 to 77% this past fall.

The state of Ohio mandates that third-graders be given reading tests in the fall and spring. The fall test is not recorded by the state, which uses the spring exam to help compile its annual report card for each district.

Tefs credits at least part of the improvement to taking the test with paper and pencil rather than online.

The goal, Tefs said, is to raise the score to as close to 100% as possible in the spring, when it counts most.

   Online jeopardy

Tefs invited board members to attend the “Be Kind and Smart Online’’ program presented by Summit County prosecutors to seventh- and eighth-grade students and their parents in mid-January.

The topic of the prosecutors was to be the dangers of sexting and sextortion on the internet.

“We’re doing this to be a partner of our families, with our families and for our families,’’ Tefs said.

   Elections

Keith Malick was elected board president and Claudia Hower vice president for the 2023 calendar year. Malick and Mike Kahoe were assigned to the finance and audit committee; Hower and Diana Sabitsch were appointed to the facilities and grounds committee and the policy committee.

Kahoe volunteered to be liaison to the Ohio School Boards Association.

    It’s official

The board certified that enrollment in the district was 2,830 as of 0ctober and established a service fund of $7,500 to be used to defray expenses board members incur in the performance of their duties. ∞