Teachers, bus drivers needed in Ronan
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RONAN — A lack of teachers and bus drivers was brought up as a concern for Ronan/Pablo School District No. 30 during the last meeting of school board trustees Sept. 14. According to District 30 Superintendent Andy Holmlund, who brought the matter to attention during the superintendent’s report, the shortage is a nationwide problem that also includes paraprofessionals and substitutes.
School districts have a legal responsibility to provide bus drivers for their students, but a steady decline in applicants is forcing schools to get creative in their solutions.
Following the board meeting, Holmlund met with educational leaders from across the state in Bozeman to discuss how to address the problem.
The discussion focused on establishing a statewide recruitment effort – the details of which will be hashed out in future meetings.
During a phone interview Holmlund explained that the lack of bus drivers is felt more keenly in rural areas.
“In an urban area like Missoula, with a transportation system, you just buy the kids bus passes,” he said.
The Ronan/Pablo District currently has positions open for bus drivers, substitute teachers and paraprofessionals.
During his address to the board, Holmlund also reported on efforts to improve the level of communication from home to school via Power School. Power School is a program parents can log into to look at their child’s lunch balance, class schedule, attendance and grades. Daily middle school and high school lesson plans are also online.
A new component of Power School, called School Messenger, allows parents to decide which way they receive communication from the school – via email, text or phone message.
Messages a parent might receive include notifications when students are late, are not in attendance or to advise of snow days. School staff is currently being trained on how to use School Messenger.
A computer kiosk soon to be installed near the front office, will allow parents access to Power School on school grounds, and is another way the district is working to improve communication.
In other business, trustees hired Dan “Hap” Cheff as the VICA (SkillsUSA) coordinator, assistant football and assistant wrestling coach for Ronan High School and Steve Woll as the boys little dribbler coordinator. Substitute teachers, several paraprofessionals, a custodian, bus driver and attendance secretary were also hired.
Board Chair Bob Cornwell welcomed to the school the new hires who attended the meeting.
During his report to the board, Pablo Elementary School Principal Ryan Fisher said he’d fielded concerns from several parents regarding 2-hour late starts on school days. Finding childcare or adjusting work schedules to accommodate for late starts were the main complaints of parents.
District-wide late starts were implemented this school year to allow time for professional development, training and dialogue for teachers. There are six late starts on this year’s school calendar.
Parent Rhoda Couture, who attended the meeting as a representative for the Indian Education Committee, suggested that trainings be held before the school year starts or during evening hours when it’s less impacting on students and families.
Prior to adjourning, several overnight field trip requests for students involved in various FFA competitions were approved.
The next school board meeting is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m. in the high school library.
