School in Madison is back in session. Here's what you should know (2024)

The Madison School District anticipates a smoother start to the school year after consistent bus delays caused problems last year.

The district also is starting the school year with fewer unfilled positions when 4K, kindergarten, sixth and ninth grade students in the district return Tuesday. All other Madison students start back Wednesday.

This school year, voters will decide whether to approve those referendums and learn more about Joe Gothard’s plans for the School District as superintendent. New data will also reveal if student enrollment will continue to be steady and if test scores will further rebound from the learning lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.

More bus drivers hired

After a shortage of drivers caused a busing meltdown at the start of the last school year, the Madison School District said it is better prepared this time around.

Transportation provider First Student has 127 drivers hired and several in training, First Student’s area general manager Ladel Cass told the School Board earlier this month.

That is enough drivers to cover every bus route and to have one spare driver on standby in the case of illness or personal emergency.

These numbers may change before school starts. Cass said First Student has already identified drivers from out of town who could drive buses in Madison, if needed.

Last school year, the district relied on these out-of-town employees to cover bus routes when a shortage of drivers meant buses were consistently delayed.

“It’s been a tremendous battle to get where we are,” Cass said.

Parents also can better monitor buses using a First Student app called FirstView, which gives parents real-time notifications about the location of school buses and arrival times.

The School District rolled out FirstView in March.

Despite having all routes covered with drivers, First Student continues to battle low retention rates and a drop-off of candidates during the application and training process.

Of the 1,262 people who have applied since September 2023, only 66 have been hired as bus drivers, Cass told school board members.

Wages for bus drivers start at $25 per hour, with opportunities to take on additional routes or work during the summer.

Fewer staff vacancies

About 126 staff positions are vacant heading into the school year, according to district spokesperson Ian Folger.

That breaks down to four administrative positions, six food service workers, nine custodians, 35 educational assistants and 72 teachers.

Considering some of these unfilled jobs are part-time roles, that comes out to about 93 vacant full-time equivalent positions, Folger said.

This time last year, there were about 280 unfilled positions, according to numbers provided by Folger at the time. About 92 full- and part-time teaching positions were still vacant with less than a week left before school started.

New school start and end times

Elementary and middle schools have a new schedule of start and end times this school year. Arrival and dismissal times for high schools are the same, but will now follow the same schedule Monday through Friday, thanks to the elimination of early dismissal on Mondays.

The bell schedules are:

7:35 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (1:10 p.m. release on Mondays) — Elvehjem, Emerson, Franklin, Hawthorne, Huegel, Lapham, Leopold, Lincoln, Lowell, Marquette, Mendota, Midvale, Muir, Nuestro Mundo, Olson, Randall, Southside and Stephens.

8:15 a.m. to 3:37 p.m. — East, La Follette, Memorial and West.

8:25 a.m. to 3:20 p.m. (2 p.m. release on Mondays) — Anana, Chavez, Crestwood, Gompers, Henderson, Kennedy, Lake View, Lindbergh, Orchard Ridge, Sandburg, Schenk, Shorewood Hills, Thoreau and Van Hise.

9 a.m. to 4:25 p.m. (2:45 p.m. release on Mondays) — Black Hawk, Cherokee Heights, Gillespie, Hamilton, O’Keeffe, Sennett, Sherman, Spring Harbor, Toki, Whitehorse and Wright.

These changes return the district to a three-tier schedule for prekindergarten through eighth grade students. The district last changed school start and end times in November 2023, to remedy consistent bus delays.

By staggering school start and end times, fewer bus drivers and routes are needed at one time. It’s unclear at this point when the district will be able to maintain a two-tier system.

Referendum input sessions

The district will hold in-person meetings over the next month where the public can weigh in on the school referendums up for approval on Nov. 5.

Each meeting will be located at one of the schools selected for improvements, should the $507 million facilities referendum pass. A $100 million operational referendum to help pay for ongoing costs, like staff salaries, is also on the ballot.

Capital improvements covered by the larger ballot question include updates to outdated HVAC and plumbing systems and new, energy-efficient heating and cooling technology. Five new buildings would be constructed near existing schools. Two elementary schools that are in particularly rough shape also would be renovated.

Each of the “community engagement” sessions begins at 6 p.m. Two sessions took place in August, and the remaining sessions are:

Tuesday, Sept. 10:

Wednesday, Sept. 11:

Thursday, Sept. 12:

Tuesday, Sept. 17:

Wednesday, Sept. 18:

Thursday, Sept. 19:

Tuesday, Sept. 24:

Wednesday, Sept. 25:

Thursday, Sept. 26: Toki Middle School/Orchard Ridge Elementary (Cafeteria)