SHORTAGES

or emotional di culties on school buses.

Hans said that even with rolling cancellations, some routes may still experience day-of cancellations.

“In the case where drivers or assistants are out, we will rst do our best to cover any vacant routes with internal sta prior to moving forward with a cancellation,” she said.

Already, the district has con-

For an alternative high school experience, VALE, or the Venture Academy of Leadership and Entrepreneurship, will combine traditional classes with real world solidated 30% of its bus routes, increased the outsourcing of special education routes to thirdparty transportation providers and reduced daytime eld trips to keep sta available. experience. Unlike Legacy, students enroll full-time at VALE with classes starting on Aug. 8. VALE administrator Katy Kollasch described it as a place to allow stu- e Cherry Creek School District starts bus drivers at $23.18 per hour and assistants start at $17.74 per hour. dents to have a multi-sensory learning experience with the support and partnership of local industry professionals. VALE is also much smaller than most high schools, with a sta of 18 teachers. e goal is for students to apply for a patent, submit a work to be published or become practitioners through their Friday work based learning. e district bought Legacy for $10.3 million and VALE for $5 million in 2021 and spent roughly $23 million to renovate both buildings. e school board will be voting on whether to put a $66 million mill levy override and $484 million bond on the 2023 ballot to pay more competitive salaries for sta and build new schools at the Aug. 8 meeting.

Hans added that families who paid for an annual bus pass will receive a partial refund to o set the cancellations.

Compared to surrounding districts, Douglas County’s transportation pay is one of the lowest in the metro area. Douglas County starts bus drivers with commercial driver’s licenses at $22.86 per hour and transportation assistants start at $17.62 per hour.

Lauren Snell, a spokesperson for Cherry Creek schools, said the district is working to ll 30 open bus driver positions and isn’t facing the same transportation challenges as Douglas County.

However, Snell said hiring transportation sta isn’t particularly challenging.

“Right now, people want to come work for Cherry Creek,” she said.

Snell said no routes will be canceled this year and cancellations weren’t an issue last year either.

“We can’t wait to bring school to life for our students,” said Kollasch.

Classes will run Monday through ursday and on Fridays students will go into the community and learn through local partnerships. Students will start with volunteer work and move onto mentor experiences, internships and apprenticeships.

“ e substance that these kids will have starting on Tuesday is like nothing I have ever seen in 20 years in education, and they are going to be amazed,” founding principal Lee Ann Hayen said.

In an email to families, Kane said it’s hard for Douglas County to o er competitive pay because of limited district funding. Currently, the district is o ering paid training and $1,000 sign-on bonuses for select positions to try entice employees.

“While this is a challenge a ecting school districts across the country, our funding situation makes the challenge more acute for our district,” she said.