School district tells Sumner, Bonney Lake parents to prepare for bus driver shortage
As school starts for the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District, families should prepare to have a back-up plan for how their child will get to and from school, the district announced in a recent newsletter.
“Due to a severe bus driver shortage, it’s highly likely that some bus routes will be affected to some degree on a daily basis,” the Aug. 26 newsletter said. “Any given route on any given day could experience a different bus number, earlier or later pick-up/drop-off times, and unfortunately the potential of no bus transportation at all.”
Sept. 7 was scheduled to be the first day for students grades one through 12 while kindergartners start three days after. Families can use the bus stop lookup tool on the district’s website to find route information for this school year.
There might be a possibility that children ride a different bus in the morning and afternoon. Pick-up and drop-off times could also change “because of the need to double-up on bus runs,” according to the newsletter.
Children may have to wait for a bus to pick them up from school, but while waiting they will be supervised, according to the newsletter. Families will receive a robocall if their child’s bus route is affected.
If there are no bus drivers available, the school may be unable to provide bus transportation at all on some routes at times. Families are encouraged to find alternatives. If a child cannot make it to school, their absence will be excused.
The district will be unable to accommodate students on waivers or students who have bus passes that allow them to ride home with a friend or to a relative’s home.
“This (is) a very unfortunate reality that will likely affect routes on a daily basis,” the newsletter said. “We will notify affected families as soon as we possibly can. We will continue to provide transportation for special education students who have special transportation in their IEP (Individualized Education Program).”
There are currently 40 permanent bus drivers on staff, Elle Warmuth, communications director for the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District, wrote in an email. The district’s ideal number of bus drivers is 60.
“The Sumner-Bonney Lake School District, along with many other school districts locally and nationwide, are experiencing bus driver shortages for a variety of reasons,” Warmuth wrote. Reasons include but are not limited to having less than 40 hours of work per week and the accountability of transporting children.
As far as officials are aware, the school district has not had any bus drivers quit in response to Gov. Jay Inslee’s vaccine mandate, Warmuth wrote. Inslee announced the mandate on Aug. 18, requiring all school staff to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
The district has tried to offer referral incentives for current employees as well as incentives for new bus drivers, Warmuth wrote. Since then, they saw an increase in applications.
Offering no bus transportation at all is the district’s “very last resort” and is something they will try to prevent, Warmuth wrote. Families will be unable to know in advance which specific bus routes may be affected as they can change on a daily basis.
