Most school systems around Rochester are welcoming their students back to class on Tuesday, but not the Rochester City Shools, which pushed opening day back to Thursday. The Rochester Board of Education made that decision in a series of three special meetings over the Labor Day Weekend. District officials suddenly learned last week they were nearly 100 school bus drivers short of being able to run the necessary transportation routes for getting 31,000 children to school and back.
The district pushed back the start of school by two days as it worked with the Regional Transit Service to get as many kids to school as possible on RTS transit buses. And letters went out to nearly 600 families informing them that their children’s bus route had been eliminated.
The affected students are at schools 10, 17 and 22. Students at those schools who live a mile-and-a-half away from school or less will now have to walk, or their parents will have to find some other way to get them to school.
Superintendent Leslie Myers-Small said in a Monday night ZOOM meeting of the school board that students who can’t walk or get a ride to school will have to start the year with remote learning.
A board meeting Tuesday night is expected to feature a report from the superintendent on how the deal with RTS will be structured and how it will be paid for. A community meeting will be held Wednesday for the children and families who must now walk to school.