Still Not Enough Bus Drivers to Fill Seattle Schools' Bus Routes

Despite hiring not one but two bus companies to provide transportation for thousands of Seattle Schools' students, the district still won't have enough drivers to fill all bus routes come the start of school on September 7th. From KIRO-7 tv:

The Seattle School District is warning families that some bus routes will not be in effect at the start of the school year as the district continues to be affected by a nationwide bus driver shortage. 

“We know this solution is far from perfect, and we are doing everything we can to minimize disruption. Families who will not have bus service for the start of school may feel frustrated and upset,” a message shared to families in the school district reads in part. “We are committed to making sure that all students who need it have safe and dependable transportation to and from school.” 

The district says families subscribed to bus routes that will not be in service will be notified before Sept. 7.

I'm told that most of those bus routes are in the northern end of the district.

An alert reader also sent me this flyer:

image001.png

Comments

Anonymous said…
Not surprising, little has changed in the labor market since April. The pearl clutching from the usual suspects over SPS’s alleged incompetence is disingenuous. Lack of bus drivers isn’t limited to SPS, and lack of workers isn’t limited to schools.

Nothing New
8/25/22, 3:15 PM
Northender said…
Does anyone know if any federal funds are withheld from the district if bus service is not available to those who qualify for it? That would seem appropriate...

How can the district say "We are committed to making sure that all students who need it have safe and dependable transportation to and from school." if that is not provided?
8/25/22, 8:51 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday Open Thread

The speaker list is up for the Board meeting tomorrow; not as packed as I thought with just four people on the waitlist. The majority of the speakers are speaking on high school boundaries (with several wanting to talk about Ballard High). There are only three of us speaking about the Green Dot resolution asking the City to not grant the zoning departures that Green Dot has requested.  It's me, long-time watchdog, Chris Jackins, and the head of the Washington State Charter Schools Association, Patrick D'Amelio.  (I knew Mr. D'Amelio when he headed the Alliance for Education and Big Brothers and Big Sisters; he's a stand-up guy.)
Read more

Breaking It Down: Where the District Might Close Schools

Update 2: an absolutely fabulous interactive map made by parent Beth Day (@thebethocracy on Twitter - she covers Board meetings and is fun to read).   end of update    Update 1: Mea culpa, I did indeed get Decatur and Thornton Creek mixed up. Thanks to all for the correction. end of update   I suspect some who read this post will be irate. Why do this? Because the district seems very hellbent on this effort with no oversight skid marks from the Board.    To clearly state - I do not believe that closing 20 schools is a good idea. I think they hit on 20 because they thought it might bring in the most savings. But the jury is still out on the savings because the district has not shown its work nor its data. I suspect closing schools and THEN leasing/renting them is the big plan but that means the district really has to keep the buildings up.   But this district, with its happy talk about "well-resourced schools" is NOT acknowledging the pain and yes, grief, that is to come fro
Read more

MEETING CANCELED - Hey Kids, A Meeting with Three(!) Seattle Schools Board Directors

 Update 2: So I have seen a message from President Liza Rankin on why she, Director Evan Briggs, and Director Michelle Sarju backed out of this meeting.  In a nutshell: - She says there was no organization to the meeting which is just not true. They had a moderator lined up and naturally the board members could have set parameters for what to discuss, length of meeting, etc. All that was fleshed out. - She also claimed that if the meeting was PTA sponsored, they needed to have liability insurance to use the school space. Hello? PTAs use school space all the time and know they have to have this insurance.  - She seems to be worried about the Open Public Meetings law. Look, if she has a meeting in a school building on a non-personnel topic, it should be an open meeting. It appears that Rankin is trying, over and over, to narrow the window of access that parents have to Board members. She even says in her message - "...with decisions made in public." Hmmm - She also says that th
Read more