Fayette school bus driver shortage cancels routes. Families asked to have a back up.

After several bus drivers called in sick Thursday morning with the district already shorthanded, Fayette Superintendent Demetrus Liggins said he “took the extraordinary step” of canceling four bus routes.

In a late-night message to families on the first day of school Wednesday, Liggins said the routes canceled were Bus 313 with service to Brenda Cowan Elementary School and service to Frederick Douglass High School, Bus 17 with service to Henry Clay High School and Bus 217 with service to Dixie Elementary School.

“This is certainly not an ideal situation, and we deeply apologize that we have had to inconvenience our families,” said Liggins, who is starting his first year.

Liggins said district officials would continue to look for a long-term solution to the bus driver shortage that has been an ongoing challenge for Fayette County Public Schools.

In the meantime, he asked families to have a backup plan in case the district had to cancel routes in the future.

“I am committed to being forthright with our community,” he said.

Liggins said the district has been open about its bus driver shortage over the past several years and has used many strategies to recruit and retain drivers. Officials have been trying to reduce the number of drivers needed while not reducing services to students and families, he said.

Despite those efforts, Liggins said the district started the 2021-22 school year with 25 openings for bus drivers. Thirty-one transportation employees have the correct licensure to cover open routes.

“Unfortunately, we have had several drivers call in sick for tomorrow morning, depleting our available coverage,” he said.

Last winter, the school bus driver shortage — which is also a problem in other Kentucky districts — delayed the return to in-person learning for a time.

At one point in early 2021, the school district had 34 school bus driver vacancies, 39 school bus monitor vacancies and 5 employees on leave.

Liggins is encouraging anyone interested in becoming a bus driver, bus monitor, or child nutrition team member to submit an online application.

This story was originally published August 12, 2021 at 6:44 AM.