School district texts Lee County parents buses will be late

Published: Updated:
Parked school buses. Photo via AP/Seth Perlman.
(AP/Seth Perlman)

Parents in Lee County say they have waited up to three hours before their kids come home from taking the school bus. Some kids aren’t reaching home until nighttime.

Lee County Schools sent parents a text that said a bus driver shortage could delay kids getting home by hours Friday.

“It’s concerning because if my bus driver is tired, they’re not being safe,” Eliza Garcia said. “If they’re rushing, they’re not being safe.”

Garcia picks up her child outside of their apartment complex.

“We have a routine,” Garcia said. “So the later she is, the worse my routine gets for her.”

She said the bus was on time Friday, but that’s’ not always the case.

“I know that a lot of the other parents have the same problem,” Garcia said. “One lady had to wait until 7 o’clock at night for her child to show up.”

Some parents receive alerts from the school district.

Friday the alert said, “Due to driver shortages, buses may be extremely late.”

Lee County School’s website said it has over 700 buses that cover over 12.3 million miles every school year. Additionally, it says all of it is done in a safe and timely manner.

The delays are still concerning for parents like Garcia.

“If the school’s not asking why, someone needs to be asking why? Are you not getting paid enough? Not enough time off?” Garcia said. “They’re very important because it’s the only means to get my daughter to school on time.”

WINK News reached out to the school district to see what it plans to do to address the bus driver shortage, but there was no reply at the time of publication.

Trust WINK News to update you as more information becomes available. 

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