COVID, CDL demand, bus driver shortage hit home for Fayette schools

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – The bus driver shortage, a nationwide truck-driver demand, COVID and everyday illness are creating new headaches for school districts, starting with Fayette County and working its way down.

And while creating daily issues, starting Thursday morning, the challenges likely will be highlighted in everything from political discussions to long-term education and health debates for weeks to come.

In a message to parents Wednesday night, Fayette County Schools were forced to greet parents with a message that several bus routes will not run Thursday morning because of driver shortages. It’s the pinnacle of a problem that began last spring with school districts having to offer dramatic pay increases to try to attract drivers.

The issue has grown worse as trucking companies have raised wages, benefits and incentives to meet demand for people with Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDL), which most bus drivers must have.

The surge in the COVID outbreak with the delta variants has also hit hard across every segment of the community, including bus drivers. With few backups, a sick bus driver now means a bus won’t run and parents must scramble for help.

Below is the message Fayette County Schools sent to parents concerning bus route cancellations Thursday:

Dear Fayette County Public Schools Families:

Thank you for helping make today a great first day of school for students! It was a joy to have everyone back on campus together.

I’m writing tonight to make our families aware of a challenge we are facing, because I am committed to being forthright with our community.

It is no secret that businesses across our nation are having a difficult time hiring enough staff. Fayette County Public Schools has been open over the past several years about our bus driver shortage and undertaken many creative strategies to recruit and retain drivers. We have also looked for route efficiencies to reduce the number of drivers needed, while not reducing services to students and families.

Despite these efforts, we started the 2021-22 school year with 25 openings for bus drivers. Thankfully, we have 31 transportation employees who have the correct licensure available to cover open routes. Unfortunately, we have had several drivers call in sick for tomorrow morning, depleting our available coverage.

This evening we have had to take the extraordinary step of cancelling four bus routes – Bus 313 with service to Brenda Cowan Elementary School, Bus 313 with service to Frederick Douglass High School, Bus 17 with service to Henry Clay High School and Bus 217 with service to Dixie Elementary School. This is certainly not an ideal situation and we deeply apologize that we have had to inconvenience our families.

We will continue to look for a long-term solution to this challenge, but in the meantime, wanted to make all of our families aware of this situation. In the future, we may be forced to cancel a route that impacts your family. Please think about alternative arrangements you may be able to make to ensure you have a back-up plan, should this be the case.

Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. If you know anyone who is interested in becoming a bus driver, bus monitor, or child nutrition team member, please encourage them to visit www.fcps.net/jobs to submit an application