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Mars Area schools examine communication after minor bus crash

District forms committee to look at renovation options

Members of the Mars Area School Board discussed improvements to the district’s communication during the meeting Tuesday, Sept. 12.

On Sept. 6, one school bus rear-ended another during dismissal on the Mars Area Centennial School campus, resulting in broken glass.

Students were seen by the school nurse and EMS, according to Mark Gross, superintendent. They were either released to guardians or transported home on another bus.

“What I witnessed was very smooth, but what we communicated out could have been done a little differently and a little better,” Gross said.

Amanda Burkovich, a parent of a Mars Elementary student who was on that bus, agreed.

“There has been a lot of discussion about this in our neighborhood,” she said at the meeting. “I think my biggest concerns were that we, as parents, weren’t notified until I think it was 30 minutes after the incident occurred.”

Burkovich said she understood the stress and chaos of the situation, but voiced concern that there wasn’t a better way to inform parents. She suggested contact lists be made for each bus route so a member of the administration could call and inform parents of what happened and what the next steps are.

According to Gross, the district had decided to make the same improvements to communication that Burkovich suggested.

“The key is always in communication (and) I can reassure you that we made internal steps to definitely do that a little better and with more specific information,” Gross said.

By the end of the week, Gross plans to email parents and post an open letter to the district website with what happened during the accident and what to expect in the future.

“We’ve had a couple small accidents this year, which is really unfortunate,” Gross said. “We have plans; we know what we do. We just want to make sure that we communicate with the parents very clearly what to expect.”

“I’m hopeful,” Burkovich said at the end of the meeting. “To me, it feels like a simple change that can be made, especially if the capabilities are there through the program that is already set up.”

Currently, parents have access to Stopfinder, a parent engagement app that provides parents and guardians with access to accurate, up-to-date information regarding students’ school bus schedules.

Stopfinder also includes a messaging feature that enables communication between parents and the district in the event of a bus delay or other situation that requires immediate attention.

Parents can also set up alerts to notify them when the bus has arrived or departed from any location along their bus route, and the alerts can be customized for each student.

In addition to conversations about communication, the board also voted to approve extending the district’s bus transportation contract.

The motion to approve a contract with A.J. Myers & Sons was passed 6-to-3, with Jennifer DiCuccio, Megan Lenz and Nicole Turner voting against it.

“I have personally witnessed the lack of customer service and my experience with my own children as well as several community members don’t feel that the safety and security of our children are made the prominent priority,” Lenz said, who attended the meeting via Zoom. “I’m concerned that the five-year contract makes us unable to hold them accountable long-term.”

Committee forms to discuss possible renovations

During the administration comment portion, Gross introduced the Comprehensive Planning Community Action Committee.

The committee is tasked with getting community input on possible future renovations to increase student capacity for the Mars elementary buildings.

The committee, consisting of 46 people including 13 members of administration, will discuss two possible designs and ask for the community’s input.

The designs include renovating both the administration building and the elementary school or doing nothing to the older administration building and splitting the students between the elementary school and the centennial school.

“We already identified curricular areas we need like STEAM areas and now we are taking all of that to the community (to) get their blessing and their input,” Gross said.

According to Gross, the committee will meet from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. before school board meetings Oct. 3, Nov. 8 and Dec. 5 at the high school cafeteria. Committee meetings are open to the public, but there will be no public comment.

School board meetings that follow at 7 p.m. will also be held at the high school cafeteria instead of the usual administration building, eliminating Zoom access.

“We are hoping that by early spring, we will have a decision on which option we want and what it looks like so we can start planning,” Gross said.

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