Westside Messenger - February 12th, 2023
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www.columbusmessenger.com<br />
In Education<br />
Staffing levels increase for SWCS<br />
food and transportation departments<br />
By Dedra Cordle<br />
Staff Writer<br />
The supervisors at two of the most vital<br />
departments within the South-Western<br />
City Schools District presented the board<br />
of education with its annual report last<br />
month. The officials said that while their<br />
departments continue to experience pandemic-related<br />
shortages in some key areas<br />
of operation, they believe they are starting<br />
to turn a corner in regard to their overall<br />
staffing levels.<br />
At the Jan. 23 board meeting, transportation<br />
supervisor Tim Cox reported that<br />
there are 180 bus drivers currently on staff<br />
and that there is a potential that number<br />
could increase by seven should drivers-intraining<br />
receive their licensure. With more<br />
than four dozen bus aides on hand, Cox<br />
said he takes some comfort in those numbers<br />
but his concern continues to lay at the<br />
substitute level.<br />
According to Cox, the district currently<br />
has 11 substitute drivers and 16 substitute<br />
bus aides. He said those numbers, in particular<br />
the former, are not adequate<br />
enough in comparison to the size of the district.<br />
“We need to have about 20 substitutes<br />
per day,” he said.<br />
Cox said some of the issue with the substitutes<br />
they currently have is that these<br />
are not individuals who can commit to taking<br />
on regular routes for the district.<br />
“Out of those 11 substitutes that we<br />
have, we probably have four or five that<br />
would be able to come in Monday through<br />
Friday and help,” he said.<br />
He added that most have full-time jobs<br />
elsewhere and can only do field trips afterschool.<br />
While helpful, Cox said they need to<br />
find more individuals who can commit to<br />
coming in when their regular bus drivers<br />
are ill or on leave.<br />
Although the substitute shortage is not<br />
quite as dire as it has been in the past two<br />
years, Cox said the district continues to<br />
recruit and feels their efforts to shore up<br />
those numbers have made an impact.<br />
“My belief is, with the economy and getting<br />
clientele to come in, it has been a little<br />
bit easier to recruit and get individuals<br />
interested in the job,” he said. “So it definitely<br />
does seem like it is getting a little bit<br />
better.”<br />
The district currently pays bus drivers<br />
$20.82 per hour and substitute bus drivers<br />
$18.80 per hour. The district also covers<br />
most of the expenses incurred as recruits<br />
go through the process to obtain their<br />
Commercial Drivers License. For instance,<br />
Cox said the district pays for the drug test,<br />
the physical, the required state courses,<br />
and the CDL training while the recruit<br />
pays for the temporary license and their<br />
CDL Class B School Bus Passenger<br />
Endorsement.<br />
He encouraged those who have an interest<br />
in driving a school bus — or even those<br />
with a flexible work schedule who are trying<br />
to make some extra money — to reach<br />
out to the district through their website for<br />
potential job opportunities.<br />
In other transportation news, Cox said<br />
the department’s fleet of buses are in good<br />
condition. There are currently 213 buses<br />
and vans in service and a majority of them<br />
are newer models. He added that the district<br />
ordered 15 new buses last year but are<br />
still waiting to receive three of the buses.<br />
He said the arrival was delayed due to a<br />
back-order of parts for the handicap accessible<br />
buses.<br />
Lisa Hamrick, the supervisor of the food<br />
services department, also presented an<br />
annual report where she discussed staffing<br />
levels.<br />
According to Hamrick, the staffing situation<br />
at the food services department has<br />
rebounded from the previous year, especially<br />
at the substitute level. She attributed<br />
that bounce to a pay increase that<br />
now sees substitute cooks earning $13 per<br />
hour and the removal of a state requirement<br />
which mandated cooks at all levels<br />
take a civil service test.<br />
“When that went away, it seemed like<br />
the flood gates opened and we were ecstatic,”<br />
said Hamrick.<br />
Around this time last year, the food<br />
service department had 30 open positions —<br />
or a 16 percent shortage in their staffing<br />
levels. This year, however, the food service<br />
department has roughly 10 open positions<br />
— or a 5 percent shortage in their staffing<br />
levels.<br />
Hamrick said she was comfortable with<br />
those numbers but stated they will continue<br />
to recruit at the substitute level. Like<br />
Cox, Hamrick encouraged those with an<br />
interest in food service to reach out to the<br />
district through its website for employment<br />
opportunities.<br />
In related food service news, Hamrick<br />
said the district is currently serving 6,500<br />
daily breakfasts and 12,700 daily lunches.<br />
She said there was only a slight decrease in<br />
participation from last year’s numbers<br />
when the federal government provided free<br />
meals for school districts nationwide due to<br />
the pandemic. The measure to continue to<br />
provide free meals for school districts<br />
nationwide for the 2022-23 school year was<br />
not extended by the federal government.<br />
Reading with Rover at Westland Area Library<br />
The Westland Area Library will host a<br />
Reading with Rover program at 10:30 a.m.<br />
March 14 at 4740 West Broad St. in<br />
Columbus. This event will feature multiple<br />
dogs for children to interact with while<br />
they sing, dance, and celebrate the impact<br />
that animals have on our lives. No registration<br />
is necessary.<br />
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