Daily my school district sends out this message or one very similar to it.
Due to a driver shortage, there will be significant delays in morning bus pickups tomorrow, Monday, October 25. Please watch for any additional text updates.
Vineland Public Schools
Our district is not alone. My children’s school district does similarly. Glassboro has been releasing students home up to 90 minutes early every day to accommodate the driver shortage. Students of mine are waiting upwards of an hour or more after school daily. Each morning we here about a bus or two that will be up to 90 minutes late.
Why?
Ultimately, I do not have the answer. The cynic in me states that after a year-a-half of being at home under COVID rules and being paid for to do so, too many people left the profession.
Bus drivers aren’t hired right off the street given the specialty license that is needed.
Some district around here is offering $30/hour and a $1,000 signing bonus. $30 is more than my district pays teachers for after hours work.
Bus drivers, like aides, is a tough gig. It’s a split shift. One has to be available all day, but only are paid for a portion of that time. That would be difficult to convince me to do. I suppose it’s a good schedule for some . . . apparently, not enough, however.
If I am correct that the stay-at-home pay produced the shortage (I am at a loss for any other change that has been made), then we have a very specific result of a failed government policy.
Administrators now babysit students in the afternoon. With all the demands that have been placed on teachers, they walk out at the end of the work day. Morale is down.
I suppose President Biden doesn’t want to hear that.