Important Transportation Update

This is an update to previously shared information about busing.

BCPS is facing a severe bus driver shortage which will impact transportation on the first day of school and beyond. As of now, bus service will not be available for some students.

FIND OUT IF YOUR STUDENT IS AFFECTED

Affected families have received a postcard from Dean Transportation letting them know that their student has been added to a waitlist. If you received a card in the mail recently including your student’s bus stop details, this information is accurate, and it means that your bus route is in service. A waiting list card means that there is currently no bus service for your child.

Because this situation is consistently evolving, bus information you may have seen in Skyward last week is now out of date. We are working on updating this information as soon as possible, and will let you know when it is up to date.

FREE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Battle Creek Public Transportation will be offering free bus service to any school aged child between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. from now through October 1. Please see here for information on routes and schedules.

VIRTUAL ACADEMY

If you are not able to secure any temporary transportation for your child and they must remain home as a result, they can attend BCPS Virtual Academy on a temporary basis. Virtual Academy is an online, self-paced school option. Students who cannot attend in-person due to transportation challenges should start the year in Virtual Academy, and begin attending school in person as soon as transportation is available. Click here to sign up or contact Deborah Nuzzi at dnuzzi@battle-creek.k12.mi.us or (269) 535-7163.

STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFORMATION

Bus cards that were sent to your home from Dean are currently the best source of updated information about your waiting list and bus stop information. We are working our hardest to get Skyward up to date with the correct information. If you did not receive a bus card or are unsure if your child is impacted, please contact Dean Transportation or BCPS Helpdesk at:

• Dean Transportation: ashleyk@deantrans.com or 269-965-9435
• BCPS Helpdesk: helpdesk@battle-creek.k12.mi.us

We will notify families via email and phone, and update this post as soon as we have more information.

QUESTIONS?

If you need assistance or have any questions, please reach out:

• For questions specific to busing, please contact Ashley Kulikowski at ashleyk@deantrans.com or 269-965-9435, or helpdesk@battle-creek.k12.mi.us.
• Spanish Language Support: (269) 419-1978
• Burmese Language Support: (269) 601-6029

We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding as we do our best to secure a way for students to get to school amid this extremely challenging situation. Please stay tuned for more updates.

HELP SPREAD THE WORD: BUS DRIVER POSITIONS NOW OPEN!

If you know anyone who might be interested in applying to be a bus driver for the 2021-22 school year, please encourage them to apply! We’re asking the entire community to come together right now to help make sure our kids can get to school. Please spread the word to your friends, family and neighbors, share our Facebook posts and encourage interested people to apply!

• Positions starting at $18-$21 per hour
• New hire sign-on bonus up to $750
  
• No experience necessary – paid training to receive a CDL is provided
• Individuals who are already CDL certified are especially encouraged to apply
• Full benefits package and flexible scheduling available
• Weekly pay

Interested applicants can apply here.