Bus drivers are dying from COVID and not offered the same protection as teachers. COVID came and there were plans for buses but then there wasn’t money for it. “Money, benefits, treated like real humans. “Maybe it’s time to get serious about the behavior of kids on the busses.” -Elizabeth C. There are late buses every day, by hours.” -Teresa R. He is in first grade and doesn’t get done until 3:39. So my school now starts at 7:30 and my son at 9:00. “They changed the start times across my district and standardized them to be 7:30, 8:30, and 9:00 a.m. “One school in our county is having paras drive buses.” -Alanna R. We polled our own community of teachers to find out what they think. ![]() On top of that, though, administrators and leaders are trying to address problems brought on by the pandemic. Those existing barriers continue to persist. Some districts have raised salaries or offered signing bonuses, but most have not and are relying on temporary solutions.Īs mentioned, struggles with school bus routes and drivers are nothing new. Many districts are resorting to third-party transportation drivers, but they have been resigning too. More accountability from schools for student behavior and safety. Like the teacher shortage and paraprofessional shortage, the school bus driver shortage can absolutely be solved: by making school bus driving a more attractive profession. With working parents, busy family schedules, and the already-stressful transition from summer to school year, it’s clear why the school bus driver shortage is taking a toll on so many families. Many districts have delayed their school year until transportation is improved. Without a bus or vehicle, the bus driver shortage is playing a part in chronic absenteeism. For many families, transportation = education. Districts like Philadelphia pay families to provide their own transportation-a holdover policy from COVID-but most have essentially instructed families, “You’re on your own.” Parents and families have resorted to ride shares, paid carpooling, or other paid forms of transportation. Some families suddenly without transportation are scrambling to arrange it. Parents are waiting in long lines to pick up and drop off. Students are getting home late, between 5:30 p.m. ![]() In the meantime, families are trying to navigate this additional problem. She told the Washington Post, “I suspect maybe school systems have been underpaying drivers for a very long time and maybe they need to look at that.” Perhaps, she added, “the chickens have come home to roost.”Ĭlearly, this is a complex issue that won’t be solved overnight. Groshen, economic adviser to Cornell University’s ILR School and former commissioner of the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Molly McGee-Hewitt, CEO and Executive Director of the National Association for Pupil Transportation, also told PBS NewHour that many school bus drivers who couldn’t get work during the pandemic found work elsewhere, and they don’t see an incentive to return.Ī final reason comes from Erica L. “We’re just not finding enough people in the pool that want to be school bus drivers for districts to hire the number of drivers that they need,” McFarland says.
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