ORLANDO, Fla. — Orange County Public Schools pleads for bus drivers just days before the first bell.
This district says it needs up to 200 bus drivers to be under regular operation. “With fewer drivers, we have to get creative and try to impact as few students as possible,” said the district’s transportation senior director, Bill Wen.
Wen explains that some drivers will make four trips: two for school pick-up and two more to take students home. He advises that buses could be 30 to 40 minutes late. “We’ll post bus delays on our website where you can see what buses are delayed, which route numbers, and which schools,” said Wen.
New this school year, a law enforcement unit specialized in addressing school threats was established. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office launched the Threat Assessment & Threat Management unit. “Our mission is to monitor them and make sure they don’t become further radicalized and make sure they don’t become a further threat to this community,” said Undersheriff Mark Canty.
Canty says nearly 200 school resource officers are made up of sheriff’s deputies, who are spread out throughout the district. “They will risk their lives, put themselves in harm’s way to protect our children,” said Canty.
Parents also have a new way to stay connected with the district. It’s launching “Parent Square,” an app you download and can customize to receive information from your child’s school.
“You don’t want the phone calls, you just want the text message, or you want things at a certain time, you can set that up in the app,” said Superintendent Dr. Maria Vazquez.
Law enforcement is also reminding drivers to pay attention to school zones.
“Slow down, pay attention, or else, we’ll have deputies out there to write you a nice ticket,” said Canty.
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