MORGANTOWN — That oh-so-slight clicking sound you’re hearing right now — is the not-so-slight accumulation of miles rolling up on the odometer of an average school bus in Monongalia County.
Drivers here log more than 1 million miles a year, according to Jeff Meadows, who directs transportation services for the district.
That includes 120 bus routes a day, plus field trips and away games. All over pothole-laden roads that Meadows said laugh at shock absorbers and suspension systems.
“We’re really getting beat up here,” he said.
He’s talking about one road in particular: Chaplin Hill Road, the only way in to Mon Schools’ bus garage at Mylan Park.
The road is long need of repair, Monongalia Board of Education President Ron Lytle said Tuesday night during the board’s regular meeting.
That’s why the BOE is getting on the same bus today with the Monongalia County Commission.
Lytle and Mon Schools Superintendent Eddie Campbell Jr. are expected to add their signatures to a letter the county commission wants to send out today to Byrd White, the newly appointed secretary to the state Department of Transportation.
The commission meets at 10 a.m. today.
Tom Bloom, the commission president who spent his first career as a high-school guidance counselor here, said the Mylan Park area holds some critical infrastructure for the county and its school district.
An elementary school is there, plus alternative learning facilities that offer education, employment and recreational opportunities for children and adults with special needs.
The park also houses athletic fields and a soon-to-be completed aquatic center that includes a track complex.
It’s also home of the MountainFest motorcycle rally and Monongalia County Fair.
In the letter, the commission is offering to pony up $150,000 in matching funds for paving, new guardrails and other upgrades.
BOE vice president Mike Kelly said Chaplin Hill Road wasn’t made for the weight of all its traffic, which is why hopes the signatures of Lytle and Campbell will add weight to the request.
The board in other business approved the coming calendar for the 2019-2020 academic year. The first day of school is set for Aug. 20, and the calendar also includes a 10-day break for Christmas.
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