Eight schools in southwestern Vermont called off classes on Tuesday due to a lack of school bus drivers, a staffing shortage that the bus company partly attributed to Covid-19 mitigation practices. The interrupted classes and bus runs are scheduled to resume Wednesday.
The Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union canceled classes in almost all Bennington County public schools after several drivers with Dufour Transportation couldn’t work on Tuesday. Three drivers were out because of personal matters, while two were quarantining as they waited for the results of Covid-19 tests, said Linda Flynn, Dufour’s general manager.
“They’re quarantining, just in case,” Flynn said Tuesday morning. “We can’t take the chance, because one person can spread it to a lot of people.”
The closures affected eight schools in Bennington, Pownal, Shaftsbury and Woodford. They enroll about 2,500 students from elementary through high school, supervisory union spokesperson Katie West said.
Dufour said this is the first time in its decadeslong contract with the supervisory union that a shortage of bus drivers has led to school closures. To run smoothly, the area’s school bus routes need around 30 drivers.
Flynn said bus drivers who are feeling slightly ill — including in cases where they would’ve gone to work in pre-pandemic times — now must quarantine and undergo Covid-19 testing out of an abundance of caution. They can be out of work for up to three days, depending on when they get a negative Covid-19 test.
This has forced the Massachusetts company to seek more bus drivers, including two for the Bennington area, she said.
“It’s pretty tight,” Flynn said. “We’re all driving. Management is driving. Mechanics are driving.”
The Vermont Agency of Education said school districts across the state are experiencing similar difficulties with maintaining school bus routes.
“This is not a unique, nor new problem,” agency spokesperson Ted Fisher said. “Some districts have struggled with this annually for several years.” The situation is part of a larger staffing shortage in the education system, he said.
The elementary school as well as the middle and high school in Arlington, which recently came under the Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union umbrella, were not affected by Tuesday’s closures.
Both schools have employed their own bus drivers for years and continue to do so, Assistant Superintendent Bill Bazyk said.
The supervisory union called off classes on Monday evening, saying in a Facebook post that Dufour wouldn’t be able to provide enough bus drivers “out of an abundance of caution.” It didn’t provide details, and many on social media speculated about the cause.
In another post on Tuesday morning, the supervisory union said the driver shortage was due to “illness and bereavement.” It said schools will reopen on Wednesday, with all buses running on schedule.
The supervisory union doesn’t expect any further school interruptions stemming from a lack of school bus drivers, West said on Tuesday. “Our goal is always going to be to have the kids in school so they can engage in learning,” she said.
West described Dufour as a trusted partner, with whom the supervisory union has contracted to provide school bus services for at least 30 years.
Dufour provides school bus services to most towns in Massachusetts’ Berkshire County, on top of those in Bennington County.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union in the cutline.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Bus driver shortage leads to school closures in southwestern Vermont.