OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – Osceola County bus drivers were on the road before many students even woke up, kicking off the first day of school with 250 routes across the district.
Last year, the district transported 26,000 students while facing a bus driver shortage. This year, some routes have been consolidated, and drivers may be picking up additional students along the way.
Orville Watson, director of Transportation Services for the School District of Osceola County, said the district is in a better position than it was a year ago.
“We do have some deficiencies in drivers, but we’re not nowhere, like we were last year. We are in very, very good position today. We’ve had to split a couple of routes, but nothing that detrimental to our operation,” he told News 6.
The district has also installed student detection systems on 10 buses this school year.
“We have about 10 buses or so on the road that we have what we call smart radar systems on the buses, and basically what that does for us. It monitors the inside, the exterior and the interior of the bus. So the radar that will detect if there’s a child that’s left on the bus, it will warn the driver by audio and visual alert,” Watson explained.
“If there’s students around our buses, even under the buses, the readouts will also send that alert to our driver. So we have some really neat technologies that we’ve deployed this year in our buses.”
For parents, the first day of school carried its own excitement. Kalain Galanos was dropping her daughter off in St. Cloud.
“The school is amazing, and we just got to an A-plus school. My daughter loves all of her teachers,” Galanos said.
Beyond the first day buzz, parents face an important decision this November. Residents will vote on a millage rate — a property tax — to fund operational costs across the district. That includes teacher salaries, safety and security personnel, and academic programs such as arts, music and athletics.
District leaders say a $100 million budget shortfall means cuts will be unavoidable if the measure does not pass.
“I think I mean, I don’t know too much, but I think it would be great for the communities,” Galanos said about the question.
Andrew Thorson, another parent, was more direct.
“That’s a good thing. Teachers are underpaid for the job that they do,” he said.