ROBBINSDALE, Minn. — For most students, it's been about a month since they've been back to school. Getting there, though, isn't any easier.
Bus driver shortages continue to put a real strain on families and one superintendent candidly told them – it may never go back to normal.
"When you start as a new superintendent, you want to focus on academics and the social and emotional well being of our students," said Robbinsdale Area Schools Superintendent David Engstrom. "But we’ve had to spend an inordinate amount of time just on operations and transportation, which is really unfortunate."
When students in that district started a new year, there was also a new bus company – Durham School Services. Like many companies across the country, it's having a hard time hiring drivers.
"We are working with them so they can be successful because we need them to be successful," said Engstrom.
Engstrom says 8,000 students rely on bus transportation. The shortage means he's had to cancel 12 out of 67 routes while the others are impacted when drivers don't show up.
"This is unprecedented," he said, "We have just not seen this much of a need in our community."
The urgency led him to pen an honest letter to parents, admitting he was "over-optimistic" the situation may improve, when things may never return to how we knew them before COVID-19. He also recognized the burden this bears on so many.
"It breaks our heart that it's causing this much hardship for our families," said Engstrom.
To help, the district is partnering with Metro Transit and giving out bus tokens, it's adding van service and considering offering supervised support an hour before and after school.
"We're looking to our community to help in any way they can, but to also extend grace and kindness when things aren't going as we would expect them to go or want them to go," said Engstrom.
He says the best practice so far is to continue asking families, if they can, to opt out of bus transportation and instead give that seat to families for whom that's not an option.
The district does have some drivers that are being trained right now, but the process is rigorous and long.
It can take about two months from when someone is hired until they earn the credentials to get behind the wheel.