Photo: Getty Images
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Boston schools start classes in a week, but some students might have a hard time getting there. The city is dealing with a significant bus driver and monitor shortage that could cause student impacts throughout the fall.
Superintendent Brenda Cassellius said the district has hired 656 bus drivers out of a usual staff of 700 to 720 during a press conference Thursday, meaning the city is missing around 6-9% of its usual drivers. Cassellius said the shortage was caused at least in part by "many recent retirements and national employment trends."
BPS Transportation Director Delavern Stanislaus said in Wednesday's Boston School Committee Meeting that the district simply will not have enough drivers in time for the first day of school. School officials did say that the bus driver shortage was not as bad in Boston as it is in other districts. Cassellius said some bus routes will be rerouted and consolidated to help deal with the shortage.
Another Boston Public Schools department is in even more dire hiring straits. The superintendent said the district's Food and Nutrition Department is down 150 workers, which the department's Executive Director Laura Benavidez said is almost a quarter of the necessary staff.
WBZ's Karyn Regal (@Karynregal) has more:
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App
Written by Chaiel Schaffel