August 21, 2023

After beginning my role as Superintendent in July, I initiated communication with district employees and community partners to revisit in-town transportation services. The magnitude of services that could be offered made it essential for us to prioritize which services and locations would produce the highest impact on student safety and attendance. Although a school-to-school transport system is being revisited for a possible November 1 start, driver and resource availability remains a concern, as does whether that should be the first service to implement. Consequently, our Transportation Department has worked to provide services to additional areas of town identified as needing assistance. The additional pick-up locations will be the first of our services initiated, starting August 23.

I’ve included addresses and a schedule for the additional stops. Please understand that the areas are not supervised, and parents/guardians are responsible for their children's behavior before getting on the bus or after school drop-off. Although we hope the 71-capacity bus will allow for adequate space, we will monitor the situation during our first days back and communicate if changes need to be made.

As indicated, we continue researching the most appropriate and impactful way to provide a school-to-school transfer system. Additional staff will be trained over the next couple of months, and with that, other services for in-town options will be communicated and initiated before November 1, 2023.

I ask for your patience and understanding as we look to provide services to the areas of highest need while knowing that many of us would like different services for our children. Nate Loehr, our Transportation Director, has done tremendous work on this initiative, and I want to thank him for his time and effort.

Sincerely,

Dr. Schultz

**PLEASE VISIT OUR TRANSPORTATION PAGE ON OUR WEBSITE TO SIGN UP FOR THESE BUS ROUTES**

Stop 1. 13th St W & W.7th Ave	6:55am/3:55pm
Stop 2. Independence Ave	7:00am/3:58pm
Stop 3. South Parking Lot of The Lanes	7:04am/4:01pm
Stop 4. Western Ave.& South Heron Cove	7:08am/4:04pm
Stop 5. Western Ave.& North Heron Cove	7:09am/4:07pm
Stop 6. 10th St. CountrySide Estates	7:16am/4:16pm
Stop 7. 10th St. Innovation Village	7:19am/4:19pm
Stop 8. 9th St. East Crest Townhomes	7:23am/4:23pm
Stop 9. 9th St. High Point Apt.	7:25am/4:25pm

George S. Mickelson Middle School

Important Transportation Information