News Summary
The Mat-Su Borough School District has canceled multiple bus routes because of a significant shortage of drivers. Around 42 routes are affected, leading to disruptions for families. The driver shortage is linked to staffing issues with the contractor, Durham School Services. Parents are frustrated with the last-minute cancellations. No additional cancellations have been reported recently, and efforts to recruit more drivers are underway. This ongoing issue follows similar challenges faced in previous years by the district and others in the area, such as the Anchorage School District.
Palmer, Alaska – The Mat-Su Borough School District has canceled dozens of bus routes due to a significant driver shortage, which has caused disruptions for many families in the area. The cancellations took place last Thursday and Friday, affecting around 42 route segments out of the 550 operated daily by the district.
The driver shortage is primarily linked to staffing issues with Durham School Services, the contractor responsible for bus operations under a nearly $200 million contract since 2022. The cancellations have been attributed to driver absences and the unavailability of adequate standby drivers to fill in.
Parents have expressed frustration over the last-minute notices regarding these cancellations, often receiving notifications just hours before their children were scheduled to be picked up. This has made it challenging for families to coordinate work and school logistics effectively. Despite the disruptions, only a small fraction—less than 4%—of the district’s total bus routes were impacted.
Fortunately, there have been no further cancellations reported as of the following Monday, leading to hopes that the situation may be improving. Durham School Services has indicated that several drivers are expected to return to work soon, and additional drivers are currently in training to fill the existing gaps.
This is not the first time the Mat-Su Borough School District has faced such challenges. A driver shortage previously affected the district in August 2022, leading to the cancellation of routine education routes at the start of the school year. Similarly, the Anchorage School District encountered a shortage at the same time. In that district, a rotating bus schedule was implemented, serving a fraction of eligible students while leaving many reliant on alternative transportation arrangements.
The current contract with Durham School Services is set to extend until June 30, 2032. However, the Alaska National Guard has stated that it cannot assist with alleviating the driver shortage due to legal constraints surrounding their activation for such purposes. In light of these challenges, the Anchorage School District has been exploring various solutions to reduce transportation burdens on families. For instance, under a rotating bus service model, they currently can serve only 7,000 of their 20,000 eligible students at a time, leading to significant disruptions for many.
In the Anchorage School District, general education bus routes are divided into three cohorts, providing service for three weeks, followed by a six-week suspension. Special education routes and students living within 1.5 miles of their schools remain unaffected by these scheduling issues. To cope with the current transportation situation, parents are being encouraged to consider driving their children to school or arranging carpools as alternatives.
In an effort to attract more drivers, the Anchorage School District has introduced a financial incentive package offering $2,500 for new drivers and an additional $500 for bus attendants for the first semester. Despite these initiatives aimed at remedying the ongoing crisis, the overall driver shortage remains acute not only for transportation but across various departments within the district, which currently has 375 open positions.
As schools continue to navigate these logistical challenges, the hope is that both the Mat-Su Borough and Anchorage School Districts can find swift and effective solutions to ensure reliable transportation for all students.
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Additional Resources
- Alaska’s News Source: Driver Shortage Hits Mat-Su Students
- Wikipedia: School Bus
- Anchorage Daily News: National Guard Unable to Help with Bus Driver Shortage
- Google Search: School Bus Driver Shortage
- School Transportation News: Driver Shortages in Alaska
- Google Scholar: School Bus Driver Shortage
- Anchorage Daily News: ASD Bus Routes Suspension
- Encyclopedia Britannica: School Transportation
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