Huntley prepares for school year

Summer school's finally out at Huntley District 158, and district staff now are busy making sure students will be on time next month.

Chief Operations Officer Glen Stewart said the district's school bus system is in "good shape" after last year's bus shortage.

Acting on the concerns from parents about fewer stops and more children on the buses, the school board capped elementary school buses at 55 students and middle school buses at 60.

The district recently bought 29 new buses to replace older buses in its fleet, which will serve 2,983 kids on more than 80 different routes, Stewart said.

However, he noted a new problem of a similar nature.

"We now have a shortage of drivers," he said, adding that the district is training a group of new drivers and fielding numerous calls from interested drivers.

He said he is confident the district will have enough drivers when schools open on Aug. 27.

The district also bought five used buses, each with a capacity of between 14 and 16 students.

Those buses will be used for special activities, including busing small groups of students for work programs in the area and students in the individualized education program who may be out of the district.

Students in the IEP program, Stewart noted, would not be required to pay for the service, which is reimbursed to the district by the state.

"Another cool thing we are working on is to increase our activity buses from the current two at the middle schools, to four at the high schools, for students who have after-school club activities to attend," Stewart said.

At a cost of $50, students can buy 20 ride tickets, he said, making it an affordable transport expense, he said.