10/02/2025
I am voting for Dan Hardesty for Mentor Schools! If you need to ask me why, after reading this post - start to finish, message me. This is the type of leader our school district needs and deserves. Facts matter.
Let’s talk about leadership and our bussing issue at Mentor Schools.
Like many of you, I was frustrated by yesterday’s school closure. Parents were inconvenienced, kids lost learning time, and families who deeply value our schools felt let down. This has been a tough and ongoing issue and yesterday really brought the severity of it home - quite literally for those of us with kids in school.
A candidate for the board of public education, running as one of a slate of three, claimed that yesterday’s school closure due to the bus driver shortage was caused by poor culture at our transportation department and a lack of leadership. A stunning amount of assumptions had to be made to make that accusation. Good leaders don’t make assumptions.
Leaders need to earn respect and the best of them do so by being engaged, learning and listening, attending meetings and carefully reading communications, having dialogue with stakeholders, and offering thoughtful and applicable solutions. There have been at least two board meetings, two Cardinal Cafes, and multiple communications concerning the transportation issue in the Mentor schools. I have not seen many of the slate at these meetings and I have not seen the author of this critique at any of them.
Here is what leadership looks like:
-Respecting our hardworking drivers and transportation staff who show up every day under tough conditions.
-Admitting management has made mistakes and that the challenges are persistent — from the rollout of the bus app, to NDCL transportation confusion, to pickup spot safety, and now this closure.
-Looking honestly at challenges while still working on solutions.
Refraining from demoralizing staff, which would only exacerbate the issue.
Comparisons to running a jail fully ignores the reality of running schools. We can’t “force” overtime, and we’re not managing a locked facility — we’re transporting and caring for children.
The challenges are different, and the solutions must be too.
What’s already been done:
• Starting pay increased to $24.57/hour.
• Bonuses and health care from day one.
• Paid CDL training.
• Aggressive recruitment and advertising.
• Exploring in-lieu payments and limited privatization.
What solutions I can offer:
• Expand in-lieu options and targeted privatization to reduce demand.
• Once fully staffed, overstaff by 2–3 drivers to plan for long-and short term leave, absences and retirements.
• Targeted advertising and outreach campaigns in a wider region.
• Continue exploring creative solutions that work for families.
True leadership isn’t about slogans or pointing fingers. It’s about showing up, listening, being informed, thinking independently, and working with our community to solve problems together.
That’s the kind of leadership I will bring to the Mentor Schools. Let’s stop the blame game and get to work.
