ST. CHARLES, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A suburban school district wasn’t able to get buses to some of its students for at least three hours Monday morning due to a driver shortage.
Parents and students in St. Charles District 303 were told to expect significant delays for several bus routes Monday morning.
“Messages have been sent to high school parents and students for the following routes: East route 25 and North routes 48 and 54. Routes could be delayed up to 3 hours,” District 303 said in a statement.
Another two middle school bus routes were an hour and a half behind and an elementary school bus was delayed by an hour.
“Like the rest of the world, we're experiencing a labor shortage and that's unfortunate,” said Carol Smith, a spokesperson for St. Charles School District 303.
Smith told WBBM Newsradio a couple of bus drivers called out sick Monday morning, while others had scheduled days off, creating a ripple effect of delays in picking up students in the morning.
It’s the second time District 303 has experienced major bus route delays this year.
Unlike other school districts that were forced to cancel class altogether, District 303 has its own fleet of buses and drivers, which Smith said gives them a bit more flexibility.
“We're very fortunate that our director, our assistant director, and our safety director all have their licenses, so they drive on a regular basis,” Smith said. “But that's not good practice either to have the people who are supposed to be handling the office work driving buses, but they do.”
The St. Charles school district planned to make adjustments to the afternoon bus routes so that if they’re delayed, it wouldn’t be as long.
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