WCPSS' bus driver shortage creating an equity gap, critics say

CARY, N.C. (WTVD) -- As the clock ticks down to the start of the traditional calendar school year, a nationwide bus driver shortage is causing major headaches at the state's largest school district. Wake County Public School System is not just large, it's diverse -- raising serious questions about how the school bus crisis affects some families more than others.

The district's school-bus struggles simmered all summer long. They boiled over at the start of August when the district's transportation team informed the school board that the district was missing permanent drivers for 17 routes; 2,000 students would need to find their own way to school

The news didn't go over well.

"To say that we're not gonna have a bus for every kid in the district is more than unacceptable, it's embarrassing as the largest district," said school board member Monika Johnson-Hostler at the Aug. 1 work session.

Wake County mom of three Tiara Foster told ABC11 that she couldn't eat and couldn't sleep because she was so worried how her 7-year-old first-grade son, Malachi, would continue at his dream school, year-round Wilburn Elementary

"Over the last couple of months, my anxiety has been more through the roof than ever," she said.

Foster said she received word from WCPSS that Malachi's bus route was canceled 30 days before classes were set to resume. However, a WCPSS spokesperson tells ABC11 the route cancelation came last year due to the district's changes in its student assignment plan -- unrelated to the current challenges with bus driver shortages.

Nevertheless, with no car and a limited budget, Foster tried to make it work, even buying ride shares for her first grader.

"I tried my best. He started school and I was using cash out-of-pocket to just do Ubers back and forth," Foster said. "And when I realized that it was just going to sink us as a whole family, I had to make the tough decision to tell my child he could no longer go to that school."

Longtime Raleigh parent advocate Geraldine Alshamy calls it an issue of equity.

"It's about the haves and have-nots all the way around," Alshamy said.

Alshamy's Community Equity Leadership Team (CELT) helped Foster file a complaint with the district's Office of Equity Affairs, asserting that Wake's bus driver shortage was having an unfair and disproportionate effect on lower-income families.

The district's transportation team returned to the school board last week with a new plan.

"We just need drivers. We need bodies to assign to buses," Bob Snidemiller, WCPSS Senior Director of Transportation told the school board on Aug. 15.

Snidemiller and his team were now guaranteeing a permanent driver for every bus route. However, they were unable to guarantee the district's over-stretched drivers could get all students to school on time. They estimate more than 3,000 children will arrive after the morning bell.

"It's not good enough," Alshamy said of the district's latest solution. "I know they're trying, but 3,000 children being late for class, we're talking learning loss."

"If we can bridge these gaps between community, our parents and our school then we can foster better education for our children."