Waukesha First Student bus driver shortage, kids missing class

WAUKESHA, Wis. - School District of Waukesha students are facing bumps in the road amid a nationwide school bus driver shortage. As the new school year starts, the district has nine bus routes without drivers.

For sixth-grader Kaelyn Van Essen, moving up to Waukesha’s Butler Middle School, she not only starts a new year at a new school, but adds to the concern with not having bus service to get her to school on time.

"I’m kind of a worrier, so I’d worry that everyone would get to know everyone, and then I’d get a reputation on the first day of school as that late kid," said Van Essen.

On Thursday, Aug. 31, days before the start of the school year, the School District of Waukesha wrote Van Essen's parents that her bus would drop her off 10 minutes after school started, and her bus would leave school 20 minutes before dismissal.

"At first, I was kind of happy because maybe, yeah, I get to be late to school," said Van Essen. "I get to miss school, but 20 minutes late every day is a lot of time, and then I’d get behind in school work and stuff."

The classes she’d have to cut short would be science in the morning and literacy in the afternoon.

"I love literacy," said Van Essen. "I love reading, and I like science, and I don’t want to be late or miss school."

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In a letter to parents, the district’s transportation office wrote: 

"As we shared earlier this week, transportation continues to be a challenge throughout school districts nationwide. Despite the best efforts of First Student and the fact that over 80% of our bus routes will be running as scheduled, there continue to be routes that will be impacted by the driver shortage. As a result of staff shortages, there are routes that will be running early, late or not at all."

For those impacted, the district added:

"We recognize this is an inconvenience for the students and families impacted. This decision was not easily made and only after First Student consolidated as many routes as possible, created a third tier when possible and communicated with other transportation companies. While First Student understands these adjustments are not ideal, they are the best possible solutions to ensure transportation opportunities for the maximum number of students, and changes have been made in collaboration with the school district. First Student continues to recruit, hire and train new drivers and will add back routes as quickly as possible."

FOX6 News found "now hiring" signs in Waukesha at First Student, the national company that provides bus service for the School District of Waukesha. The starting pay listed on the company's website for bus driver jobs in Waukesha is $23 an hour, with a $4,000 signing bonus. 

The driver shortage is a growing national problem. A survey conducted by HopSkipDrive found 92% of surveyed school leaders reported a bus driver shortage "constrained" their operations. The national survey found several problems leading to the shortage: difficulty recruiting new drivers, drivers retiring or leaving for other industries, as well as pay.

The shortage left some parents in Waukesha scrambling to find alternatives. Some banded together to carpool, so their kids won't miss class.

"We’re very lucky that I know my neighbors, and we’re able to figure it out," said Jen Van Essen, mother of Kaelyn. "While it might not be the easiest, and it’s challenging, we can get them there, but some of these kids are going to be missing a lot of school, and that’s sad."

"The school district's goal is to educate children, and I just couldn’t understand how this was an acceptable solution," said Melinda Jacobs, another parent who will turn to carpooling.

Jacobs said the new bus schedule would mean her daughter would miss parts of her math and French classes, totaling 3.5 hours each week.

"In the morning, she was missing French, which isn’t a really easy class to miss, because you’re kind of emersed in the language," said Jacobs. "So, if you walk in 10, 20, 30 minutes late, your kind of lost."

To have confusion just days before school started bothered the 11-year-old Van Essen.

"It drives me crazy because I want to know my schedule for the week. I want to know what’s happening. I want to know when I’m going to get home, so I can get ready for my activities. I want to know stuff. I don’t want to be left in the dark."

Despite the unexpected inconvenience to their parents, the Jacobs and Van Essen kids won't have to be late to school.

"That made me feel much better and relieved because I don’t like not knowing the plan," said Kaeyln Van Essen. 

"It just seems like there could have been some other options figured out over the entire summer," added Jacobs. "Hopefully, this won’t be long-term. I don’t know."

FOX6 asked First Student and the school district for answers. 

Statement from School District of Waukesha

"First Student kept us informed on their recruitment strategies and staffing, yet there were many times where they were adding new drivers while losing some as well.

We have worked together with First Student to consolidate bus routes and have decreased from 87 routes last school year to 68 routes this year to maximize efficiencies…Drivers are still needed for nine bus routes and First Student is actively training and testing new applicants.

Since our communication with families directly impacted on Thursday, First Student can now cover route 42 (West/Rose Glen) as of the first day of school. The District is working to get bus passes from Waukesha Metro as an option for some families in the Horning attendance area.

Each principal has sent a welcome letter to families, ensuring that they will be welcomed regardless of when their student arrives or how they arrive. Principals are working to establish an efficient way for students to get off the bus, check in at the office, and quickly get to class.

We appreciate the flexibility of our families and staff at Rose Glen, the middle schools, and West High School, as this is where the challenges are consolidated. Seventeen of our twenty-two schools have transportation operating as usual.

We understand that this is an inconvenience to our families and will continue to partner with First Student to move forward with aligning transportation for our students.

If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a bus driver, please visit https://firststudentinc.com/careers/."