MARBLEHEAD — At its meeting Thursday, the School Committee discussed a state-wide bus driver shortage affecting Marblehead Public Schools’ ability to serve students whose families have expressed a need for them to ride the bus.
The district also entered the new school year last month facing vacancies for paraprofessionals, custodians, and cafeteria workers. Marblehead Public Schools is currently compliant with the Massachusetts law that mandates the state’s school districts provide transportation for all students in kindergarten through sixth grade who live more than two miles from the school. However, Marblehead Public Schools has been unable to grant the request of about 28 families who have asked their children ride the bus as part of the district’s Pay to Ride program, according to a report submitted to the committee by Director of Facilities and Transportation Todd Bloodgood.
Of the 164 students who live more than two miles from the school and are in grades kindergarten through six, 125 have registered to ride the bus, according to Bloodgood. The district is currently running three bus routes with two school buses each morning and afternoon. Combined, the two school buses transport the 125 registered riders in addition to 12 Pay to Ride students.
The district is currently seeking one additional full-time bus driver and multiple part-time drivers in order to expand the current program’s capacity. Marblehead Public Schools owns four school buses, so the largest obstacle to moving Pay to Ride students off the waitlist is staffing.
School Committee Chair Sarah Fox and member Alison Taylor said they have heard parents complain that some registered riders don’t take the bus every day, while 28 students remain on the Pay to Ride waitlist.
“Right now, buses are partially empty,” Taylor said during the meeting. “As soon as the weather changes, you’re going to see them use it.”
Fox added that the district is beholden to state law and doing what it can to address the driver shortage, which has also affected Saugus Public Schools.
“If a family chooses to hold a seat, we cannot put another kid on in their spot,” Fox said during the meeting. “Also, we can’t get those drivers. There’s a shortage everywhere so we really have to work to be a top choice employer.”
The Massachusetts Association of Pupil Transportation conducted a transportation review of the district in 2021 and made recommendations the School Committee is now considering. They include expanding transportation options for special education out-of-district placements, looking toward securing electric school transportation vehicles, adding multi-tiered bus routes, as well as a review and adjustment of bus driver pay rates.
Rachel Barber can be reached at [email protected].
