47 school bus routes in Anne Arundel County are without drivers
GLEN BURNIE, Md. -- Just days before the start of school, dozens of school bus routes in Anne Arundel County are without drivers, leaving many parents wondering how their children will get to class.
"I found that yesterday my son will not have a bus in the a.m. or p.m. What are you going to do about it?" said Kristi Andresky, a parent who spoke before the Anne Arundel County Board of Education on Wednesday. "I pay my taxes. Are you going to drive a bus? Are you going to pick my kids up?"
On Thursday, the district posted a list of 47 routes on its website that will not be in service at the start of the school year on Monday.
The ongoing nationwide school bus driver shortage has been plaguing school districts across the country like AACPS.
The district's chief operating officer, Alex Szachnowicz, said that they are continuing to try to fill the 67 driver openings they have.
"New drivers continue to be recruited aggressively on a daily basis again, through work of the school system, support from our county government and Anne Arundel County work force," he said.
Seventy-one people have applied for the openings, but Szachnowicz said it's unlikely they'll all make it through the application process.
"We know from experience that it's a pretty arduous path and a number of the individuals, for various reasons, won't make it all the way through," he said.
Plus, the district is competing with other employers, as new superintendent Dr. Mark Bedell noted, and they'll have to get creative to figure out how to address the shortage.
"At the end of the day, we have to look at non-traditional ways of doing things differently, because we most certainly can't afford $90,000 a year like Amazon," said Bedell.
The district said it's tried to make routes more efficient. There are fewer stops and some students will have to walk farther to those stops. But they're also exploring additional route adjustments and plan to keep parents updated on transportation plans.
Many are still worried that not every student will be in class on the first day.
"These kids are going to be left stuck at the bus stop or at school," said Patricia Wichael, a grandmother of an Anne Arundel County student.
Anne Arundel County Public Schools is making daily postings of bus routes that aren't running on its website.