It's now operating 63, Millcreek schools Superintendent Ian Roberts said. The district has had to combine bus routes to get students to and from school daily. The longest delays were on routes for some McDowell High School, Westlake Middle School, and Grandview and Chestnut Hill elementary students, according to the district posting. Millcreek Township School District, served by First Student transportation company, last week notified families of 15- and 40-minute bus delays in some areas "due to the current regional and local bus driver shortages and confirmed positive cases of COVID-19." Illness, including COVID-19, and quarantining because of exposure to the virus already has sidelined some drivers. "If one driver gets sick or has to take a day off, we have to scramble to get those routes picked up."Įrie-area colleges: There are COVID-19 cases but no large-scale outbreaks yet Longer rides and delays "With 26 routes and 26 drivers, you need to have perfect driver attendance every day, and that's not going to happen," Brokman said. "Getting kids to activities has been a very big struggle," Brokman said.Īnd with just enough drivers to cover the district's bus routes, there will be new scrambles when one or more drivers aren't available. The district also has pushed back the start times for some middle school and high school sports to get teams to the fields on time. Masks in school: Erie County schools plan to obey mandate despite some frustration "We had a couple buses running late and kids getting to school about 10 minutes late." ![]() "Since the start of week three (of classes) with some good data now and drivers who have been around their routes, we're starting to push some times forward and back so everyone gets to school on time," Brokman said. Some bus routes now are longer than normal and were tweaked this past week to get students to school on time. The district-operated transportation system was designed for 30 routes. The district also has combined bus routes, for a total of 26, one for each of 26 available drivers. Add in COVID, and that adds a little fear for people knowing they'll be in a bus in close quarters with a lot of unvaccinated students." "It doesn't fit into a lot of people's work needs. "It's an odd job in that drivers work in the morning, have nothing in the middle of the day and then work afternoon into evening," Berlin said. "We all have been struggling for years to keep our bus driver staffing levels where they need to be, and now the pandemic seems to have exacerbated the situation," said Ken Berlin, superintendent of the Wattsburg Area School District. There's a limited pool of retirees, stay-at-home parents and others who can work those hours, and now COVID-19 is shrinking that pool. An online search found more than 30 advertisements for school bus drivers in Erie County in a single day just before fall classes began. ![]() ![]() School bus drivers work split shifts on the road taking children to classes early each morning and home at the end of the school day. It's a job without a traditional workplace and traditional hours.
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