WS/FCS bus driver shortage will cause delays for thousands of students

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools is short about 60 bus drivers.

At a press conference on Tuesday, district officials said parents should expect delays in pick-up and drop-off times when school starts in a couple of weeks. 

Superintendent Tricia McManus said more than 200 bus runs will be late in the mornings and afternoons by at least 15 minutes. That will impact thousands of students. 

“I want parents to know that we are working tirelessly to pick up kids on time, get them to school on time and get them home on time in the afternoons. We are keeping our eye on that prize. That is our goal," McManus said. "We are just wanting everyone to have the realistic picture that 58 drivers short is going to impact the timeliness of our pick up and drop off.”

The district had roughly the same number of vacancies last year. McManus said pay has been a major barrier in recruitment that the district is working to address, with bus drivers currently starting at $15 an hour.

“So raising that minimum salary of a driver, and then also those that have been doing it for a while, making sure that they're not negatively impacted by someone just coming in making almost what they're making," McManus said. "So addressing the compression.”

McManus said the district will bring the issue of bus driver pay to the Board of Education in September. The district will also be offering $1,000 referral bonuses to existing transportation employees and the new hires who start before the end of this month. 

In the meantime, parents should expect calls from their children’s schools with more detailed information about how the delays will impact them. 

Amy Diaz covers education for WFDD in partnership with Report For America. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.