WND By Dwight Jones
Real Clear Wire
Students have returned to school, but district leaders in many states are grappling with how to get them there. In Colorado, a shortage of bus drivers, along with chronic absenteeism, has stressed school-based transportation systems from Front Range to Western Slope, with many of the state’s 178 school districts nearing a crisis point.
It’s a human resources nightmare. As recently as mid-July, for example, the Jefferson County Public Schools system was struggling to hire enough bus drivers for the start of the 2022-23 school year. Last year, the district reported that an average of 29 of 229 routes went unfilled each day despite other staff members filling in. The Osceola County School District held a job fair in July, hoping to hire drivers for the 35 bus routes that went unfilled last year.
