Bus driver shortage means some Waukesha students don't even get picked up until after school starts

The 2023-24 school year is off to anything but a smooth start in Waukesha, where parents are upset about bus route adjustments and even cancelations that are the result of a shortage of drivers.

Jessie O'Neil, who has two children in the district, said the bus wouldn't have picked up her son, a sixth-grader at Butler Middle School, until after the school day starts and wouldn't arrive until 15 minutes late. The after-school bus was scheduled to leave 20 minutes before the school day ends.

To avoid this, O'Neil said she and other families in her neighborhood created carpool groups to get their children to and from school on time.

"We had to come up with three different carpooling groups in order to make it work, so working with the families to see who works in the morning, who works in the afternoon, to shift our work schedules so that we can make it work," O'Neil said.

Parent Robin Scott, who has four children in the district, also worked with other parents to create a carpool to get one of her children to Butler for the first day of school. She said the carpool was only confirmed for the first week of school.

"Otherwise, she would arrive to school a minimum of 10 minutes late, and she would leave school a minimum of 15 to 20 minutes early, which adds up to two hours minimum of lost instruction per week," Scott said.

Short notice has parents upset

O'Neil and Scott aren't the only ones who arranged carpools or who have spoken out about the issues.

In a Sept. 2 statement, the parent group Alliance for Education in Waukesha said families weren't notified until Aug. 29 via email that some bus routes would "run late or not at all" — just days before the first day of school on Sept. 5.

Families directly affected by the route cancellations and changes were notified two days later with "additional emails advising of the cancellations and changes, giving families a very short window of time to figure out alternatives," according to the Alliance. Some families might not have learned of the issue at all, if their emails ended up in spam folders, the group noted.

Scott and O'Neil said they were not given much notice about the changes or cancellation of the routes.

Scott said she didn't learn of the issue until Aug. 31. She said the first email mentioned that some routes would have to be combined.

"Literally within an hour I got the second email, and it was affecting my middle schooler. My heart sank because I'm like here we go again," Scott said.

Scott said similar issues have happened previously, though on a smaller scale.

"We didn't hear these massive issues that we're hearing this year, these widespread issues, but there would be days that there would be no special ed bus, just none at all, or there would be a super late middle school bus or none at all. Then by the time we reached the end of the year, it had culminated in a crisis where we didn't have a middle school bus," she said. "The thing that is happening now (that's) widespread in the district with the busing was happening to a handful of us in the spring last year. Nobody knew about it, and we were just desperately doing on a small scale what everybody's doing now, which is grabbing carpools at the last minute, pulling a neighbor, just total stress."

O'Neil questioned the timing of the district's email on the issue.

"Having this come out on a Thursday evening of a holiday weekend right before school starts doesn't seem like adequate time for parents to coordinate what they need to do to get their kids to school on time," O'Neil said.

O'Neil also said she didn't feel there was urgency in the district's communications to parents.

"My concern is that although we were able to find an alternative for my own children and the kids in my neighborhood, I feel like there's going to be a lot of kids who are missing out on classroom instruction, and that's very, very important.

"I think even those who are not missing out on classroom instruction are going to be affected by kids coming in or leaving early from classes, and I think that's something the district should be taking very, very seriously," O'Neil said.

Lost time in the classroom for some students is a concern for many.

For Melinda Jacobs' daughter, a seventh-grader at Butler Middle School, leaving school early would not be an option.

"At first, I think my initial thought was 'OK, she'll be late. I guess that's what we'll do,' but she was not OK with that. Her last hour is math, and she's in an accelerated math class. She likes math. She's good at math, but you can't miss half or more than half of an accelerated math class every day," Jacobs said.

District is working with bus company

"We have seen other districts, both locally and nationally, be innovative in their response to staffing shortages," the Alliance said in its statement. "We call on the School District of Waukesha to use their time, creativity, and financial resources to urgently fill any positions left open, including bus drivers, teaching or aide positions, etc. Our students deserve safe, dependable transportation and a full day in the classroom."

District Superintendent James Sebert said in a Sept. 4 district statement that the district worked with First Student, the district's bus company, to reduce the number of routes from 87 last school year to 68 this year "to maximize efficiencies." He said the district communicated on Aug. 31 with all families who receive transportation to district schools and also with specific families "whose bus route will run early, late, or will not be running at the current time due to a lack of drivers."

According to the school district, although 80% of its routes are running as scheduled, "there continue to be routes that will be impacted from the driver shortage."

Nine of 11 routes were not initially covered by a driver. Two were later covered, one as of Sept. 1 and the other will be covered as of Sept. 11, according to the busing dashboard on the district website.

Each year, "many school districts have a shortage of drivers and need to determine how to start the school year," Sebert said in the district's news release."First Student kept us informed on their recruitment strategies and staffing, yet there were many times where they were adding new drivers while losing some as well," Sebert said in the release.

"Drivers are still needed for nine bus routes and First Student is actively training and testing new applicants," he said.

Progress being made on transportation, district says

Since the district's Aug. 31 communication with parents, Sebert said First Student can now cover Route 42, which serves students attending Waukesha West High School and Rose Glen Elementary School.

For some families in the Horning Middle School attendance area, the district is working to get bus passes from Waukesha Metro Transit.

He also said each principal has sent welcome letters to parents ensuring students will be welcome regardless of when or how they arrive."Principals are working to establish an efficient way for students to get off the bus, check in at the office, and quickly get to class. We appreciate the flexibility of our families and staff at Rose Glen, the middle schools, and West High School, as this is where the challenges are consolidated," Sebert said in the news release.

Sebert also said 17 of the district's 22 schools "have transportation operating as usual" and that its busing dashboard would "be updated each day as more route information becomes available."

In an updated news release Sept. 5, the district praised those who helped get affected students to school.

"A huge shout out to our parents, caregivers, and community for developing alternate transportation arrangements for some of our students to arrive on the first day of school as well as our principals, teachers, aides, custodians and everyone else who made our students feel welcome when they arrived," the district said in the news release.

First Student, the district's bus company, acknowledged there are challenges in Waukesha. But the company is working with the school district to minimize the effects of the driver shortage, said First Student Marketing and Communications Specialist Mary Beth Lisy in an email.

"We have driver candidates in various stages of training and hope to add them to bus routes in the coming weeks," Lisy said.

Bus driver starting wages in Waukesha have increased to $23 per hour, Lisy noted, who said candidates receive a commercial driver's license at no cost, paid training and a $4,000 hiring incentive. She said no experience is necessary; applicants must be at least 18 years old. Interested drivers can apply at https://apply.workatfirst.com/vacancy/46057/description.

Waukesha Metro Transit's routes serve several of the Waukesha School District's schools

Waukesha Metro Transit is promoting its routes that serve certain district schools for parents to be aware of, according to Waukesha Metro Transit Manager Brian Engelking.

Waukesha Metro Transit routes include stops at, or close to, Waukesha South, North and West high schools; Waukesha East Alternative School; Butler, Horning and Les Paul middle schools; Waukesha STEM Academy's Saratoga Campus; as well as Banting and Lowell elementary schools; and Waukesha STEM Academy's Whittier Campus, according to Waukesha Metro's website.

Fares are $1.25 per ride for students ages 5-18 who show identification proving enrollment in an elementary or secondary school. There are also 10-day Ride Cards available for students ages 5-18 that cost $12, as well as 31-Day Passes for students ages 5-18 that are available for $32.

Each ride includes a free 90-minute transfer, according to the Waukesha Metro Transit website.

For more information on the schools and routes that include them, visit www.waukesha-wi.gov/government/departments/service-to-schools.php.

If you're child is affected by the bus driver shortage, consider these suggestions

The Alliance has suggested:

• Contacting the district to check on before- and after-school care that might be available or an extended-care program providing transportation to and from district schools.

• Consider whether friends, family or caregivers are on school bus routes that are running, and ask the district whether families may request transportation to an alternate location.

• Look at city bus routes.

• Contact an alternative transportation company, such as Go Kids Go.

• Carpool.

The Alliance said it is looking into what the district's obligation is to cover transportation-related expenses for those no longer being provided transportation, as well as also exploring whether extended care could be covered for those using it as a solution.

Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Waukesha parents concerned about bus driver shortage