Westerville City Schools returned to the classroom Aug. 18, but the district is struggling to find enough transportation drivers to get kids to-and-from their schools.
Of their typical 96 bus routes and 22 MyVan routes, 16 school bus and two MyVan routes don't currently have drivers as of Aug. 19. Superintendent Angie Hamberg said in an Aug. 17 email to district families that this leads to schedule delays and additional stress on current drivers, students, teachers and families who rely on school transportation.
"Our bus drivers and Transportation Department are doing everything they can to manage this challenge," Hamberg said. "They are working behind the scenes every day to make adjustments, cover routes, and find solutions while keeping student
safety as the top priority."
The impacts everyday school arrival times for some students and may also have impacts on transportation to-and-from after-school activities.
When they are fully operating, the districts buses and vans provide about 6,200 rides daily, totaling over 2.1 million rides annually. They run a total of 116 school buses and 38 MyVans.
The district also shared a call for help, encouraging people to submit applications for transportation roles on the Westerville City School District website.
Dispatch reporter Lilli Malone can be reached at lmalone@dispatch.com or on Instagram at @lillimwrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Westerville Schools missing drivers for nearly a fifth of bus routes
