LEE COUNTY, Fla. — The Lee County School District has filled all 555 bus driver positions ahead of the first day of school, eliminating the previous 67 vacancies that plagued the district.
The district says the success comes from a new "Safety Start Initiative" that reorganized bus routes from a four-tier system to three tiers, making routes more realistic for drivers to complete on time.
"We want to make sure the routes we gave them gives them enough time to complete a route, drop the kids off at school and go through our next route with time in between to make sure the kids get on time," Chief Safety, Security, and Fleet Operations School District of Lee County, David Newlan said. "Remember, by getting kids to school on time, it's more instructional time as well. It's what we want for our kids."
Click here to see Community Correspondent Victoria Quevedo explain why the change happened:
Last year, district bus drivers were on time only 59% of the time in the afternoon, creating challenges for students, parents and schools throughout our community.
Bus drivers Farah Ellis and Ashley Fletcher reflected on last year's schedule, saying they would go from one route to another making sure everyone was covered. They believe the district's new initiative will reduce stress and improve their daily routes.
"It's more at ease to me. I feel like it's more like we said, less of a worry, less stress, and I feel like we won't have as many routes to cover, like we could actually be smooth, smooth ride and cover our own routes," Ellis and Fletcher said.
Because of the new bus routes, children will start school and end the day at different times this year, which has some parents concerned.
Lehigh Acres mother Victoria Paschke is torn on the decision and worried about the impact on working parents.
"For parents who work and have kids at different schools, it's difficult, especially when you're dropping your kid off when you're supposed to be at work," Paschke said. "So hopefully they have a job that is understanding that they can be late to work every day."
School officials emphasize their priority is ensuring students get to and from school safely and on time.
"Safety is always first. So I'm just looking to have a great day and a great year," Ellis and Fletcher said.
The new school start and end times for the 2025-2026 school year are:
- High Schools: 7:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
- K-8’s, Skyline Elementary, and Hector A. Cafferata Jr. Elementary: 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
- All other Elementary Schools: 8:40 a.m. – 3:10 p.m.
- Middle Schools: 9:45 a.m. – 4:15 p.m.
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