Amid ‘crisis’ school bus driver shortage, Durham drops service to 4 days a week
Durham Public Schools is turning to families for help getting children to school as a shortage of bus drivers becomes a full-fledged crisis.
For the entire month of December — and possibly longer — students who ride the bus will only be picked up four days a week, leaving families and communities to figure out transportation for themselves on the remaining day.
Many educators and families are frustrated.
“What concerns me the most is it seems like ‘crisis’ is becoming more of a norm than I think anybody would like,” said Eric Green, the parent of two Creekside Elementary School students.
Last school year, classes were canceled for several days in response to staff protests, including among transportation workers.
The district needs 65 to 100 more full-time bus drivers to staff the over 800 routes driven each day, according to the school district, and some students are having their bus routes repeatedly canceled because of the driver shortage.
“Lakewood (Elementary) has one bus that has been canceled or significantly delayed 17 times this month. There have only been 12 school days so far this month, meaning this route has been canceled once or twice a day every school day,” said parent Jenna Crowther.
“There’s only been three days this year where all six buses ran without issue,” said Rebecca McDonald, whose child attends Creekside Elementary.
The decision to limit service to four days was made to provide a consistent schedule for parents, instead of last-minute cancellations, according to Superintendent Anthony Lewis.
“What we have been hearing from families is that sometimes they receive notification 10 minutes before they need to get there to pick up their child,” Lewis said Friday at a news conference.
Families were notified Friday morning which day they’ll be responsible for starting Dec. 2. If a student rides Bus 620, for example, their family must coordinate transportation every Thursday in December.
While bus service is limited, district planning director Matthew Palmer said they’ll be redrawing routes and verifying ridership. Earlier this month, he said a state study revealed only about 55% of those who requested rides were actually using the buses on the two days they counted.
Three in four students have requested bus service, over 22,000 kids.
Some buses repeatedly canceled
District spokespeople said Friday they couldn’t provide statistics on the total number of students impacted by bus delays and cancellations so far this school year.
Palmer said Thursday night that 17 buses have no driver, and those buses drive multiple routes in the mornings and afternoons. There are staggered bell times for elementary, middle and high schools in Durham.
“Bus 235 has run twice in the last two weeks. This bus in particular serves a vulnerable population,” said parent and former DPS employee Anne Fields. “My child’s bus has begun to run more frequently and serves a less vulnerable population. So while that’s great for me, it’s not great for the families that really have no other options.”
Elizabeth Fields Jones, a teacher at Glenn Elementary School, said some students have given up on the bus and just aren’t attending school.
“For our school, (Bus 235) serves a large number of students who are new to the United States,” she said. “More than anyone, they need and want to be at school every day… Please just send our kids a bus.”
Walk zones and express bus stops proposed
Transportation staff tried to persuade the Board of Education earlier this month to enforce 1-mile “walk zones” around elementary schools and express stops for middle and high schools beginning in January. Both options remain on the table.
- What is a walk zone? The walk zones would limit bus service to elementary schoolers living at least 1 mile from school, with some exceptions if the commute is unsafe for pedestrians. That affects around 1,000 students and would save 22 routes, according to district estimates. The state of North Carolina says bus service doesn’t have to be provided if a student lives within 1.5 miles of their school.
- What is an express stop? Express stops would require some students to commute to group pick-ups and drop-offs, instead of having a bus stop inside their neighborhood or at their driveway. The changes are proposed for Durham School of the Arts, Rogers-Herr Middle School and the School for Creative Studies. They are projected to eliminate eight routes and save an average of 45 minutes per bus.
Transportation staff began bringing concerns up in Board of Education meetings in October and it’s since become a standing agenda item.
The school board is looking to schedule a meeting on Monday, Dec. 2 for a lengthier discussion. It also has a meeting Thursday, Dec. 19 at 6:30 p.m.
This story was originally published November 22, 2024 at 6:55 PM.
