ESD transportation department ready for new school year.

ESD transportation department ready for new school year.

West Shore School News is a presentation of West Shore Educational Service District in cooperation with Mason County Press and Oceana County Press.

By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief.

AMBER TOWSHIP — West Shore Educational Service District’s Transportation Department has been working this summer with the goal of keeping students and staff as safe as possible this school year.

According to Transportation Director Katrina Morris, last month, the ESD buses were thoroughly inspected by the Michigan State School Bus Inspection Unit with all buses passing inspections and ready to pick up our students on the first day of school.

“Due to the COVID pandemic, riding the bus will look and feel a lot different for students this year,” Morris said. “We are making it a priority to make this transition as smooth as possible.”

When students board the bus this year, they will be greeted by a bus driver or aide wearing a face mask and assisting them with hand sanitizer.  Students will be required to wear a face mask unless they have a medical condition that would prevent them from doing so safely.

During the summer the buses have been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.  Mike Harrie, transportation supervisor, has been creating protocols for the school bus drivers to clean and disinfect the school buses.  Bus drivers and aides will be required to clean and disinfect buses before and after each route.  The buses will also be disinfected routinely with an electrostatic sprayer.

The ESD services Mason, Lake, and Oceana counties.

“We want parents and students to know that the school bus drivers are ready to safely pick up your student on the first day of school,” Morris said.

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