By Greg Halbleib
NORMAL – Unit 5 leaders continue to scramble to transport students while new drivers are trained, and may even ask the governor for help.
Superintendent Mark Daniel said it might be time to ask for help from emergency services and even the military.
“We’re thinking about going to the governor and saying is this not an executive order time?” Daniel told WJBC’s Terry James. “Utilizing police, utilizing firemen, even utilizing the National Guard. We have to get kids to school.”
Daniel says even if guard soldiers don’t have commercial driver’s licenses, their logistics expertise could help.
The district’s transportation provider First Student reports 44 new bus driver applications and 10 new driver trainees to combat the Unit 5 transportation problems, but training takes four to five weeks. Daniel says some nearby school districts are providing available drivers and Peoria Charter will likely handle some extracurricular trips that conflict with regular routes.
Greg Halbleib can be reached at greg@wjbc.com.
