By Esteban Fernandez, Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT — The number of school bus runs Marion County Schools has had to cancel this year has increased significantly from last year, according to School Superintendent Donna Heston.
The problem is due to a lack of school bus drivers.
“When bus operators call in sick, because of their hours of training and credentials, we can’t just put anybody on a bus to cover the route,” Heston said. “They have to have that training, they have to have that licensure. It’s like if a registered nurse calls in sick. We can’t just have anybody cover that.”
Heston said last year, the school district only had to cancel a couple of runs on a few days. This year, the frequency has increased to about one run every day, she said. Heston said the transportation department, headed by administrative assistant Chad Norman, is able to combine runs so students can still get to school. But the larger problem is the shortage of bus drivers, as well as the fact many of the school system’s drivers work two jobs, which makes it difficult to complete training hours.
Photo by Esteban Fernandez, Times West Virginian