The school board got a briefing on transportation issues last week. Preparations for the new bus service are underway, and the temporary fixes put in place as school started have worked.
Ed Pekar is the Lower Kuskokwim School District's new Director of Operations. As the district wound up its second week of working with parents, the police department, and Kusko Cab to get kids to school, things have begun to smooth out.
“The system for the past two days has been pretty seamless; I haven’t had any complaints. We haven’t missed any student service, and it’s been responsive and adaptable,” said Pekar.
Pekar told the Lower Kuskokwim School District board that new buses are due to arrive on September 24, and two drivers who worked for the former bus contractor, Golden Eagle, are helping as they train drivers.
“I contacted the Department of Ed[ucation]. They’re sending me five certificates with our own LKSD number, and I’m waiting for AVTEC to get us the training in June,” Pekar said.
District Superintendent Dan Walker told the board that they were negotiating with Golden Eagle right up until the last minute to rent buses from Golden Eagle, but the company declined, leaving them a week to put the final touches on a temporary transportation system.
“I tell ya, I am so proud of the staff and the bus drivers that have come over, and just everybody just pulling together to make the system work,” said Walker.
School Board members commended the administration. Superintendent Walker said that once the new buses arrive, it will take about a week to outfit them. Then the new transportation system will be in place.
“We’re gonna be asking ourselves, ‘why we didn’t do this sooner,’” Walker said.
Once the buses are up and running, services will pick up where they left off, with the goal in mind of improving scheduling for routes, especially for Kasayuli pick-ups and drop-offs.