NORFOLK, Va. - It's been nearly one month since Norfolk Public Schools students went back to school, but parents say it's been a struggle getting them to their classrooms.
Several parents reached out to News 3 this week saying that their child's bus has either been late picking them up or has not picked them up altogether. In one case, a parent said their child had to get off of the bus and either get a ride to school or get on another bus because it was overcrowded.
Norfolk Public Schools confirmed this situation, saying they are facing a bus driver shortage like many school systems in Hampton Roads and across the country. They provided the following explanation Thursday afternoon:
"Norfolk Public Schools (NPS) is aware of the situation in question. When necessary, alternate buses are used, as was seemingly the case yesterday at Granby High. The division is impacted by the national bus driver shortage along with many others across Hampton Roads. NPS' Transportation Department continues to work to meet the daily demand of the division. This means that some drivers may run more than one route in a day; a substitute pool of drivers is used to manage route shortages as well. Additionally, transportation staff are qualified and available to assist with running routes when necessary."
The school district is hiring bus drivers to fix the shortage. They did not say how many bus drivers they need to be fully staffed.
Anyone interested in applying can fill out an application here.
