![]() ![]() Some drivers couldn’t be reached by radio, making it impossible to quickly locate students.ĭistrict and company officials this week said they were receiving far fewer complaints as pickup and drop-off times stabilized.īuses were “96 and a half percent” on time Wednesday morning, said Mat-Su district superintendent Randy Trani. (Bill Roth / ADN)Ĭalls from parents quickly overwhelmed bus dispatch and school phone lines, leading to frustrated and frightened families scrambling to track down children, including at least two with special needs. That’s more than officials identified last week.ĭurham School Services buses on Bogard Road in Wasilla on Thursday, Aug. 16, deputy superintendent Luke Fulp was tracking reports of eight to 10 children who were thought to be on a school bus but could not be accounted for. ‘What we want to see’Īs the first day of school wound down Aug. They warned of unscheduled cancellations next Monday through Wednesday. That, as well as ongoing attendance issues due to COVID-19 and other illness, could lead to more bus cancellations in addition to ongoing rolling cancellations already underway, officials say. “About 55% of Alaskan students and families are experiencing inadequate busing due to the driver shortage.” The company is struggling to fill those positions given statewide and national shortages, it said. With school starting in Washington, Durham is now expecting to lose the out-of-state drivers they imported to Alaska to fill empty positions in Mat-Su, according to the update. The CEO of Durham’s parent company, National Express LLC, on Friday offered families an apology and said the company is “determined to restore your trust” in a letter forwarded by Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District officials.īut the challenges continue. The company’s tenure began with a chaotic first few days that shocked families and school district officials with late or totally missed routes, traffic jams at schools without busing, and a number of young students whose parents had no idea where they were for several hours. PALMER - The new school bus contractor in Mat-Su is dealing with the same driver shortage as Anchorage and other districts around the state.īut along with a rough start as school got underway last week, Durham School Services is also dealing with another shortage: They don’t have enough school buses.ĭurham last week began serving as transportation contractor for a school district the size of West Virginia - “geographically, the biggest district I’ve ever seen,” as one company executive called it - under a 10-year contract approved by the Mat-Su school board in February 2021. Mat-Su School District buses are parked at the Durham School Services headquarters in Palmer on August 24, 2022. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |