Transportation and Safety

Dennis Mills
Transportation/Safety Director
389 E. Jackson
Martinsville, IN 46151
Phone 765-342-5597 | Fax 765-349-5268

Morgan County Townships

Baker, Clay, Green, Jefferson, Ray and Washington

MSD of Martinsville Schools

Elementary: Brooklyn, Centerton, Green, Paragon, Poston, Smith and South
Ronald K. Bell Intermediate Academy
John R. Wooden Middle School
Martinsville High School

Student Health or Safety Concerns

Please contact your driver or the transportation department should you have any concerns about your student. Sharing this information with us will allow for increased awareness.

Address/Assigned School

The MSD of Martinsville attendance area is an address in Baker, Clay, Green, Jefferson, Ray and Washington Townships. Please contact the Transportation Department at 765-342-5597 to determine which elementary school serves that address.

Bus Zones

A 1.5 mile walk zone has been established for the MSD of Martinsville. Shuttle areas have reduced this distance for grades 6-12. Please see shuttle page for shuttle options. Please contact the transportation department to determine if an address has bus transportation.

Activity Routes

Three routes are available to transport students involved in after school activities. Please see the description listed below. Activity routes utilize group stops. Door to door stops are not available to all locations.

Bus 41

Arrives at Bell Intermediate Academy at 4:25 pm on Columbus Street near the lighted sign. It then leaves and travels to Martinsville High School on the circle drive. Departs and travels the following roads: E. Morgan, SR 37 N, Old SR 37 (Marathon), Egbert Road, Fire Station Road, Green Township School, Maple Grove to Cope Road. Lastly, Cope Road to SR 44 and SR 44 to SR 37.

Bus 55

Arrives at Bell Intermediate Academy at 4:25 pm on Columbus Street near the lighted sign. Travels to circle drive at MHS. Travel locations include East Shore Drive (Lake Edgewood) to Wilbur Road at Lake Edgewood to SR 67. SR 67 to Milhon Road to Robb Hill to SR 67. Centerton Road to Centerton School and then SR 67 to Brooklyn. Old SR 67 to Brooklyn stopping at Mill and Main, Church and Knox and then Old SR 67 to SR 67.

Bus 58

Arrives at John R. Wooden Middle School at 4:25 pm in the area of the cafeteria. Travels to circle drive at MHS and students can transfer to bus 17 or 41. SR 67 to Brown’s Crossing and then south to Paragon. Stops at store and elementary school in Paragon. Returns to Martinsville and travels south on SR 37 to Legendary Hills, Liberty Church Rd and Old SR 37 across from Turkey Track.

Bus Rules

Students on buses should conduct themselves in the same manner as in the classroom. A brochure is distributed during the year with several rules and procedures listed. That brochure is available in the forms section.

Should a problem arise the bus driver may contact the parent, school principal or issue a written “School Bus Conduct Report”. This report will be sent home with the student for a parental signature. The seriousness of the conduct and/or the number of previous reports can determine the actions taken.

Please contact the driver, transportation director or school principal should you have a question or concern.

The following rules are posted on the bus. The bus is also equipped with video/audio recording equipment.

Observe same conduct as in the classroom.
Be courteous, use no profane language.
Do not eat or drink on the bus.
Keep the bus clean.
Cooperate with the driver.
Do not smoke.
Do not be destructive.
Stay in your seat.
Keep head, hands and feet inside the bus.
Bus driver is authorized to assign seats.

Guest Riders

Guest riders are not allowed on several routes due to capacity issues. Please check with the driver in advance. Guest riders must have a parental note that includes the name of the student assigned to the bus, the guest rider’s name, date and parental signature. Multiple guests may not be allowed due to capacity issues. Shuttle students in grades 6-12 may not have guest riders.

School Closing/Delay Information

Information is relayed using the SchoolMessenger automated phone system. Please make sure that your contact number is correct. Multiple media sources are also advised. District wide messages can be replayed by calling 765-343-7001.

Bus Schedule

Students should report to the designated stop 5 minutes early. The driver may, but is not required to wait at the stop. Stop location, traffic conditions and route schedule may prevent the driver from waiting extended periods of time.

Employment/Training Opportunities

The MSD of Martinsville Transportation Department is available to assist you in obtaining your Commercial Driver License to operate a school bus. There are several required steps listed below that will require your attention and efforts. The department will assist you and successful applicants will be reimbursed for several costs if you remain with the department as a driver employed by the MSD of Martinsville.

Many MSD of Martinsville drivers began as substitute drivers. Substitute drivers earn $80 per day. Most drivers for the district have double runs and earn between $81.78 and $102.57 daily. Insurance and PERF are available for district drivers.

Please contact the department if you are interested or if you have any questions.

Requirements include:

Pass all required written BMV tests.
Obtain an approved physical from a certified medical examiner.
Pass Third Party Skills Test and Road Test.
Pass Pre-Employment Drug Screening and be placed in testing pool.
Pass Criminal History Check.
Obtain Standard Certificate by completing 3 day course.
Complete 4 observation hours and 8 driving hours with another driver.
Pass Driver Performance Physical Standards.
Complete designated training as needed at the department.

School Delays

When there is a possibility of snow or ice, our team will begin driving roads between 4:00 am and 4:30 am. We will cover the main, public roads in our district, but with the short amount of time we have and over 300 miles of roads in our district; unfortunately, we won’t be able to drive on every road.

After checking road conditions throughout the district, our team will meet at 5:15 am. By 5:30 am, we will make a decision to either call off or delay school.

If our school is canceled or delayed, we will begin the following communication procedures:

Dr. Moore will post the news first on Twitter. Please follow her at @drmichelemoore
We will begin notifying staff and parents through a mass phone call using our school messenger program. Telephone numbers are generated from our Skyward database. At your convenience, please check Skyward to ensure your number is up-to-date for this academic year.
We will have our closing and weather delay information on the following stations:
1. WCBK radio
2. WISH-8 TV
3. WRTV-6 TV
4. WTHR-13 TV
5. FOX-59 TV

As a district, we take your child’s safety seriously and will make a decision about school delays as early as possible. I encourage you as a family to sit down with your children and develop an emergency weather plan that addresses two issues:

What you want your child to do if school dismisses early due to freezing rain or snow?

AND

What happens when there is a two-hour delay if you are both working parents?

We find that when parents have a plan and discuss it with their child beforehand, it helps alleviate stress if school begins late or is dismissed early.

Two-Hour Delays

There are times when a two-hour delay may be necessary due to cold temperatures. We take both wind speed and temperature into account when making the decision.

Please note that even though the temperature is below zero, we may not have a two-hour delay. The wind speed will play just as important a role as the temperature.

The MSD of Martinsville uses the weather chart from the National Weather Service as a starting point for our decision-making process. For reference, http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/cold/wind_chill.shtml