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Tim Mains, superintendent of Pine Bush Central School District in Orange County, said that all seven schools in the district would be opening back up on Tuesday, Sept. 14 as they scramble to cover approximately 100 routes.
Schools were forced to close on Monday, Sept. 13, and on Friday, Sept. 10 as they worked to find a temporary fix for the lack of drivers.
Mains said that they worked over the weekend to “literally reformat every in-district bus route and several to programs outside the district.
In a letter to the community, Mains said that he is launching a new Pine Bush initiative to identify current employees who may be interested in learning how to drive a bus to help with the current shortage of drivers.
“If you work in any job category and would be willing to get your CDL license, we will help you get that license and teach you how to drive a big bus,” he said. “This could include anyone really who has the interest and the available to time.”
Mains added that he hopes that the current temporary schedule can be adjusted within the next six weeks to get things back to normal for students and staff.
“I understand that some are alarmed that I will now be using two of our emergency days so early in the school year,” he previously said. “You should know that we have five scheduled days to use for any type of emergency.
“As we get further into the school year, should we need to use more than five, we can, on those occasions, pivot to remote instruction if need be.”
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