Bob Cassiday is driven.
There are worker shortages everywhere, even in this small village called Byron.
After joining the district in January, Superintendent Bob Cassiday noticed a lack of staff in his bus fleet, and he wanted to step up.
The Byron Area Schools’ bus driving routes had to adapt due to a diminishing staff. To accommodate, drivers make two trips to pick up students and another two to drop them off.
His 8 full-time drivers dwindled to just five, so he took the wheel.
“This is just one more way of serving the community,” Cassiday said.
From his desk job to the driver’s seat, it’s not really anything foreign to the superintendent. He used to drive semi-trucks, so driving a big yellow school bus comes easy.
“That experience is helpful for this — definitely,” the superintendent said.
Throughout his career, whatever job he had, Cassiday went the extra mile.
“There’s value in what everybody’s doing. We’re all on the same team, we’re just doing it in a different way that’s all.”
Small school districts are known for being a close-knit community among students. And those same students are getting to school because of one major driving factor, the superintendent.
“It matters what you can do, especially being in a small district, you wear a lot of hats,” Cassiday said. “And rather than close something down, why not fill in?”