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Alpine School District faces bus driver shortage, causing problems for start of school year
UTAH COUNTY, Utah () — Bus driver shortages are causing bus delays and crowding during the start of the school year for Alpine School District, and some parents have taken to social media to voice their frustrations.
One parent posted on social media that her child who goes to Vista Heights Middle School had to call her to request a ride home after both waves on the bus were too full. Other parents shared similar experiences with busses being late or having to pick their children up from school because busses were too full.
Some parents said that the busses are being packed full of kids, three to four children to a seat, and some were even reporting that children were sitting on the floor, in the aisles of the busses.
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Other parents said that bus issues happen at the start of the year every year, and that the district has a driver shortage. They suggested parents should call the school district, and Alpine School District told that they are aware of the problems the busses are experiencing and parents' frustrations.
Bus issues are common at the beginning of each school year, Director of Communications for Alpine School District Dr. Rich Stowell confirmed. 'There's always going to be some frustration with transportation,' he said.
'Obviously, the first few days of any school year are going to bring out some issues that we could not have anticipated, like where the kids are coming from, what the crowded routes are,' Stowell said. 'So we're working through those, and those are kind of par for the course for us, and we'll get through it.'
He added that they manage a huge fleet of busses, and they are focused on getting kids to school safely and on time every day. However, Stowell also stated that there are driver shortages in the district, which means that they can't have as many buses transporting students as they would like.
Because of the shortages, buses are having to pick kids up in waves, or doing what Stowell called 'double runs.' There are more students than can fit on the buses, and so the buses have to take one load of students home and then return to the school for a second trip.
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'That's always going to cause some delays for some kids getting home,' Stowell said.
While the initial issues should resolve as the district adjusts, Stowell added that families can do several things to help. First, if they know anyone who is between jobs or is retired, they should get them to apply as a bus driver.
'We could always use more bus drivers, and those are really rewarding jobs,' he said. 'We want to encourage people. They can be a lot of fun, and they help out the community in a very direct way.'
Families can also organize carpools with neighbors. 'We know transportation is always a challenge for families, and so looking for creative solutions with neighbors to get their kids to school in carpools would help immensely,' Stowell explained.
Still, they are expecting things to even out. Stowell said that buses will start to get to school faster, and the district can also adjust the loads of students.
'Maybe the first load was really packed, and the second load wasn't as packed, and so we can manage that a little bit better now that we know how many students are going on each bus,' he explained.
The loads will also even out when after-school programs start up again. 'As kids start to do those things and students stay at school a little longer to enhance their educational experiences, they won't have to get on that first load necessarily, and so things will kind of even out as we get into the second, third week of school,' Stowell concluded.
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