Boston parents are growing worried that the start of the school year on Thursday will quickly turn chaotic because of a shortage of bus drivers and monitors, with the union for drivers even urging officials to postpone in-person classes because of “massive” problems with bus routes.
The heightened tensions come less than a week after Acting Mayor Kim Janey and Superintendent Brenda Cassellius warned families to expect significant delays or cancellations of bus service. But the school department doesn’t plan to give affected families concrete details until Thursday morning, adding even more anxiety to a year starting under the threat of the surging Delta variant and with a largely unvaccinated school-age population.
Some parents fear that students, especially those with disabilities, could be left stranded at home or at bus stops on the first day. The school system buses about 25,000 students a day, relying on about 700 drivers.
“We are very concerned that our most vulnerable students may not have access to all of their [special education] services, which in some cases calls for door-to-door transportation and one-on-one bus monitors,” said Roxi Harvey, who chairs the Boston Special Education Parent Advisory Council.“I honestly don’t know what to expect now and am concerned for families that don’t have the work flexibility, income, or resources to secure alternative transportation.”
Meanwhile, the busing crisis has turned political during the final stretch of the city’s preliminary round of the mayoral race, with one candidate after another accusing the school system, and in some cases Janey, of poor preparation.
School officials estimated last Thursday that Transdev, the company that oversees the bus fleet, was short by upward of 60 drivers, and the system also had openings for about 100 bus monitors. Since then, only three new drivers have been hired, a school spokesman said Tuesday.
Officials said they will try to consolidate as many routes as possible to prevent students from losing bus service, but that could make another problem worse. In addition to labor shortages, officials acknowledged last week that because of some late student assignment data, the transportation department ended up creating less-efficient bus routes.
The bus drivers union termed the routing problems “massive,” noting that because of outdated information, the routes included some stops scheduled for students who had moved away or recently graduated.
“Routing for the 2021–2022 school year is by far the worst fiasco we’ve witnessed in our careers,” the union said in a press release. “It would appear that it was the result of mismanagement and incompetent routing.”
The drivers urged school officials to keep buses off the road until the problems are fixed, saying “we believe the opening of in-person BPS should be postponed.”
“Transdev and BPS have not told the union what measures they are taking to correct these routing problems nor a time schedule for a fix,” the union said.
It also criticized the school system and Transdev, saying they had not done enough to address safety concerns related to the pandemic, such as devising a “fair COVID-19 quarantine policy.”
On the campaign trail, mayoral candidates sharply criticized school officials and Janey.
“It is unacceptable that families are still wondering whether their students will be able to make it to school safely and on time for the first day,” City Councilor Michelle Wu said in a statement Tuesday.
City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George, a former Boston school teacher whose four children are enrolled in the school system, said, “We shouldn’t add yet another burden, yet alone one that could have been avoided with proper planning and communication from city leadership. I’m worried about what the first day of school will look like for our educators, kids, and families with the clear disorganization.”
Candidate John Barros, the city’s former economic development chief and a School Committee member, called the busing problems “unacceptable.”
“Parents are already stressed about the start of this school year, and I’m hearing from many families that they don’t know what the plan for their child is on Thursday,” Barros said. “I don’t see any urgency or creative problem-solving from Acting Mayor Janey to fill the gaps and get our students to school safely and on time.”
City Councilor Andrea Campbell said it was inexcusable that the school system couldn’t guarantee bus service on the first day, given that it spends $130 million annually on transportation, representing 10 percent of the system’s $1.3 billion budget.
“Worrying about whether or not their kids will be stranded on a sidewalk somewhere is no way to begin the school year,” Campbell said. “This administration has had all summer to establish transportation plans and communicate this information to parents well ahead of the first day of school.”
A school spokesman said a variety of factors contribute to uncovered routes on any given day, including driver absences, while Janey defended her administration’s overall handling of the bus system.
“I am committed to ensuring every student has access to safe transportation to school,” Janey said in a statement. “I have challenged my team to create creative solutions to ensure students get to school, as well as hire more drivers, as the city faces the nationwide bus driver shortage.”
James Vaznis can be reached at james.vaznis@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globevaznis.
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September 08, 2021 at 05:01PM
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Boston school bus drivers union calls for postponing in-person classes as parents worry about delayed or canceled buses on first day - The Boston Globe
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