Western Heights Schools To Start In-Person Classes For One Month Before Summer

The board of education of Western Heights Public Schools voted to begin an A-B schedule starting April 26 at their meeting Monday. 

The vote follows the state putting the district on probation for not offering any in-person class option to students among other reasons. 

Under the new schedule, schools on the north side of the district (Bridgestone Intermediate School, Council Grove Elementary, and Greenvale Elementary) will hold in-person classes on Monday and Tuesday. 

John Glenn and Winds West Elementary schools will show up to class Wednesday and Thursday, according to Pete Parker, Director of Operations & Support. 

The last day of classes is May 27. 

Parker told the WHPS board that finding enough bus drivers will be “a very difficult thing” because of lack of staffing. The district has eight or nine available bus drivers, five of which are also teachers. 

Last year, Parker said the district staffed about 26 bus drivers to transport more than 3,500 students. 

It’s possible the district will have enough for the end of this year, Parker said, because of recent enrollment drops and a lower demand due to the split schedule. The challenge will be creating the bus routes and figuring out exactly how many students need to ride the bus, he said. 

The local union said the shortage was created by a significant jump in support staff departures and terminations this year. 

Sharon Teague, President of the Western Heights Education Association, said 89 district support staff members have either left or been fired so far this school year. She said the district’s administration fired people for invalid reasons. 

“It was just over everyday things that people all over the district had done before. And I don’t know why they were picked out,” Teague said. 

Keyohnna Tillis-Owens was a WHPS bus driver for four years until October when she said she was fired after an argument with Superintendent Mannix Barnes. She said Barnes took issue with her driving a limousine to school one day because she didn’t have another way to get to work. 

“(Barnes) had been having everybody walking on cracked glass over here,” said Tillis-Owens. “And I just feel like I was one of those employees who stood up and said my piece that day.” 

She said she will not return to the district for work under the current administration. 

“If (Barnes) wasn’t here, I would love to drive. Because I love taking pride in every ride. That’s what I do. And I loved kids and I just want to make sure we save our schools,” Tillis-Owens said. 

Barnes told News 9 he would only provide a comment if it was in a live broadcast interview. News 9 did not accommodate that request. 

The district's vote to return to in-person classes satisfies one of the terms of its probationary status. Last week, the state board of education unanimously decided to put the district on probation.

The state outlined four key areas of improvement over the next 90 days. If Western Heights does not make the necessary changes, the state board could revoke the district's accreditation.

Offering an in-person class option was a key issue for the state board. Child nutrition, community relations, and financial prudency were other areas of concern raised by the state.