SWANVILLE, Maine — The bus battle in Swanville is over, at least that's what school officials there are saying. But following a couple of recent meetings on the subject, some parents are not convinced.
RSU 71 canceled school for the Kermit Nickerson Elementary School students last Monday.
It wasn’t snow that canceled school, but the lack of bus drivers. Parents say this isn’t a new problem.
“From my point of the view as a parent, taxpayer it seems to me like the problem has been going on, it's just been kind of swept under the rug, until something like this.” Swanville father, Robert Moore, said.
The superintendent held a meeting last Friday to apologize to the families affected. But at Monday night’s school board meeting, the topic came up again.
Superintendent, Mary Alice McLean, isn’t telling parents what the solution is, which is leading parents to do their own research.
“My research and talking with just some people, that, there is an act, that allows them to transport single children to far away areas and their plan of attack so it wouldn’t happen again would be to stop those runs to make our runs in our district,” Moore said.
That act, the McKinney-Vento Act, requires districts to provide transportation to students that are homeless, living in hotels or other non-permeant places.
Still leaving Swanville with not enough men and women behind the bus wheel. The district is accepting applications for substitute bus driver positions and will train its drivers.