Boulder Valley School District: Stretched Thin

Press release from the Boulder Valley School District:

February 18, 2022

If you have ever been in a school cafeteria at lunch time, you know that the hot lunch line is fast and furious. There is no room for error when hungry students are lined up.

“We are working at a serious pace,” said BVSD Director of Food Services Stephen Menyhart. “It is hard to explain how busy it gets when mealtime comes and there is a huge line of students waiting for you. The pace of the work is intense and you still have to tend to the quality.”

Lately, a cascade of events have brought the Boulder Valley School District and its departments to the brink. Already short-staffed because of the ongoing nationwide labor shortages, the impacts of the omicron variant surge of COVID-19 and the Marshall Fire have meant that the Boulder Valley School District has been teetering on the edge of having to cancel classes, bus routes and consider serving cold lunches.

“On a typical day, every member of the management team is working at a school and then we still have 5-10 shortages at the schools,” Menyhart said. “It is just remarkable. It shows what our staff is made of and their commitment to the task.”

To make matters more difficult, this year BVSD’s Food Services team is serving about 30 percent more meals than normal, thanks to the USDA’s effort to provide all public school students with free lunch during the pandemic.

“We are proud to be able to keep up and serve that increased audience. We know these hot meals are still something that is saving parents time and money and providing students with a nourishing meal,” Menyhart said.

Still there is an impact.

“We are still doing a massive amount of meals with less people. We are stretched with staff, which is putting a far higher workload on the people that are there,” Menyhart said bluntly. “It's our front line staff at schools who have shouldered the heaviest weight of the increased meal counts, and they have risen to the occasion. The real thanks and tributes should go to them.”

To help bridge the gap, the entire Food Services team, including Menyhart, has been dispatched to the Culinary Center and schools, so that they can keep serving students.

“Working side by side with our staff shows that we are committed to helping the cause,” Menyhart said. “Sometimes it is taking direction from them. ‘Hey, what do you need today?’

I’m your assistant today, tell me what to do.’”

Additionally Food Services put out the call to BVSD Education Center staff to help serve as substitutes for the department.

“We are so appreciative for all the help,” Menyhart said. “We couldn’t be providing the daily meal service right now without the help from the admin volunteers and I’m hoping that it is giving them a new appreciation for the pace and intensity of the work that we do daily.”

All hands on deck, across BVSD

Across BVSD, it has been this “all hands on deck” approach that has kept things going.

For several weeks, nearly all of the district’s licensed administrative staff were out in schools helping to cover absences, while also providing additional support to the schools most impacted by the Marshall Fire.

“Returning to school after the fire had our staff in knots,” said Alisha Buck, a fourth grade teacher at Superior Elementary. “Not only were many members of our staff displaced themselves, but we were all anxious about being able to carry the emotional load for our students.”

“It was such a relief to walk into the building that day and see that we were not alone.” Buck continued. “We were greeted by so many members of our district: the incredible team of crisis counselors, Jen Garfield, Katie Bell, Lora De La Cruz, Rob Anderson, Genna Jaramillo, Sam Messier, and Meghan McCracken.” Buck said. “Their presence in the building offered us all a sense of calm and gave us the strength that we needed.”

Buck said this support allowed her and her colleagues to feel empowered to push through the difficult times and really be there for the students.

“It has truly been ‘All Together for All Students’ and we are beyond appreciative for the outpouring of kindness, love, and support.” Buck said.

“Everyone has come together to support schools. I felt that we would get this all figured out and that our town would eventually be back to normal,” said Superior Elementary School music teacher Peggy Austin about returning to her classroom after the Marshall Fire.

“I think it made them all feel really good to come back,” Austin said about her students. “And to see all of us, and that the school was normal, and that things could be normal.”

The impacts of the fire were, of course, layered on top of the stress and fatigue endured by educators across the district, as they struggled through another, more challenging year of the pandemic. With a smaller-than-usual substitute pool during the first semester, teachers gave up their planning periods and support staff were reassigned to help cover absences. It has been gruelling, but through their valiant efforts, our schools were able to keep their doors open to serve students and families.

Keeping the buses running

In Transportation, during morning and afternoon routes, the Boulder and Lafayette terminals are ghost towns, because everyone is out on the road.

“All of our staff have been out driving,” said BVSD Lafayette Terminal Supervisor Lynn Tidd. “We have been using our mechanics, routers, trainers and administrators as drivers and our administrative assistants as transportation aides.”

Tidd says that it takes everything they’ve got to keep one supervisor to cover any accidents that might happen during a shift.

“Light at the end of the tunnel? Not right now there is not,” Tidd said honestly.

Despite continuing efforts to hire more bus drivers, the department continues to operate with critically low staffing. While their heroic efforts have kept buses running, Tidd says that there is an impact. By putting every last person out on the road, other priorities must wait.

“It is definitely putting a strain on all of our work, not just the supporting of the kids, but getting the routing done, the training done of new drivers, any kind of disciplinary things. We have a limited window, because we all have to be available,” Tidd said. “It ends up being a domino effect. If we send all of our routers out to drive, it is hard for them to process all of the McKinney Vento requests for transportation support.”

Service with a smile, even under incredibly difficult circumstances

Despite it all, BVSD employees in all of our departments have been doing everything possible to keep the staffing shortages from impacting our students, families, or the services they depend upon.

“We recognize that there is a lot of stress on the drivers and aides and we appreciate their dedication to the students. That really is what they are motivated by – getting their kid to and from school,” Tidd said.

“We are always trying to serve them with a smile,” Menyhart said of his food services employees. “When the parent asks their child at the end of the day and they report that lunch was the best part of the day. That is our goal, if we have succeeded.”

Want to help? Show your appreciation

During these difficult times, our staff is enduring a lot and Tidd says kindness and appreciation can go a long way for our staff right now.

“I’d like to ask for patience from the community. It is important that we extend grace right now,” Tidd said.

Join our team

Another way you can help is to join our team in one of the following key areas:

• Substitute teacher
• Classroom monitor
• Bus driver
• Transportation aide
• Food service worker
• Custodian

“It is an outstanding opportunity to engage with your child’s school,” said Menyhart.

He says that it is a great way for parents who haven’t been able to volunteer due to the COVID-19 restrictions, to give their school a hand.

“This is a great way to get engaged in their child’s school. Right now we have a lot of great opportunities.”

Apply today at jobs.bvsd.org

This press release was produced by the Boulder Valley School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.