“The status quo cannot continue. Something has to change.”
So read an email sent by Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Chief Operations Officer André Stewart and Chief Communications Officer Andy Jenks to all employees on February 1.
The email acknowledged very frankly the district’s bus driver shortage, urging employees to respond to a survey regarding potential solutions.
The ongoing shortage—which has increased in severity in recent months—continues, despite school and district efforts to solve the problem.
In Chapel Hill High School’s case, afternoon buses are primarily affected, with three or four buses typically late in the afternoon. Morning buses are also impacted, though slightly less frequently.
The late arrival of buses has caused problems for students who do not have other forms of transportation.
“The buses are disorganized: you don’t know which bus you’ll ride or when it will arrive until it gets there,” junior Miles Fox said. “There was one day when my bus didn’t arrive for two hours in the morning, and I ended up needing to find someone to drive me.”
Late buses can cause students to miss lessons or classwork, potentially creating stress, anxiety or other complications for students.
“I can imagine that starting your day a bit late can cause some feelings of being rushed or being behind as they arrive,” psychology teacher Dylan Wood said. “This is why I tend not to make a big deal about it and just loop the tardy students (at no fault of their own of course) right into the lesson.”
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the district has seen the number of bus drivers gradually decrease.
“Pre-pandemic, we operated 75 school buses. At the beginning of this school year, we began with 55,” Brad Johnson, the district’s Director of Transportation until his retirement earlier this month, said.
The employee survey also acknowledges the struggle the district is up against.
“CHCCS currently employs 37 drivers and 7 office staff members who regularly (daily) drive when they are available. By January of 2023, there were so few drivers that each day starts with 15 uncovered routes,” the survey states.
Johnson added that the district only has 41 full-time drivers, ten morning-only drivers, one afternoon-only driver and seven office staff members licensed to drive. However, eight available drivers are currently on leave, compounding the problem.
“My grandchildren have to take a different bus, going to a different neighborhood, and then walk the rest of the distance home,” Nataliya Kosyk, grandparent of three Chapel Hill High School students, said.
Bus driver shortages plague schools nationwide, with few finding viable solutions. The district’s bus drivers face long days, as do the students waiting on buses, principal Charles Blanchard said.
“On an average day, we probably have three or four buses that don’t have a driver, so we have to ask drivers to do their first route, turn around and pick up a second route. Sometimes we have several busloads of students whose buses don’t arrive until 4:45 or 5:00,” Blanchard said. “Obviously, that’s way less than ideal, because we want to get everybody home as safely and quickly as possible.”
In the short-term, the district has implemented several approaches. Buses have been rerouted and combined with others, and the district plans to hire new drivers by offering increased incentives.
“[Nationally], school districts have tried really hard to introduce signing bonuses and increase salaries as much as they can afford to,” Blanchard said.
The district has formed the Transportation Organization Committee, which is comprised of employees from the district’s central office, school administration, parents and other community members. Its goal is to identify long-term solutions to the shortage.
Currently, the committee is considering increasing the staggered time between school levels. This plan would split elementary schools into two groups, starting at 7:30 and 7:50 a.m., and alter the start time of high schools to 9:10 a.m.
The district will also have to contend with other changes. The Director of Transportation position is vacant as of February 1, requiring more work on the district’s part in order to fill another opening.
“I don’t believe that my leaving will have an impact on the bus driver shortage or transportation operations,” Johnson said. “The bus driver shortage is a national issue, and it is not unique to CHCCS. One individual will not swing the needle one way or the other. This is a community issue that is going to take a comprehensive community response to resolve.”
