Skip to content

Lack of local school-bus drivers fuels field-trip frustrations

'As unfortunate as it is, we must recognize that it may be a very long time before we can return to post-COVID levels of service,' says Catholic board superintendent

After more than two years of disruption, schools and teachers are trying to find ways to create a semblance of normalcy for their students — including with the return of much-loved field trips.

While some off-site events, such as local track and field meets, have gone ahead, others have been forced to be cancelled due to the inability to secure bus transportation, including some at the last minute.

Susan Sidlofsky, superintendent of education with the Simcoe County District School Board, said they are aware of the challenges being faced in securing transportation for off-site school activities. 

“As a superintendent, I normally deal with principals, and I have received some concerns. I can tell you that student transportation remains a priority for the transportation consortium, and they continue to service students daily with home to school runs. And that is a priority,” she said. “Our first priority is getting kids to school and back home.”

The Simcoe County Student Transportation Consortium (SCSTC), which provides busing for both the local public and Catholic boards, has been receiving a high number of requests for sporting events and field trips, noted Sidlofsky.

“They, too, acknowledge they may not be able to service all requests,” she said. “I have communicated with schools to let them know that alternate transportation options can be utilized when needed. We do have some parents who volunteer to drive to athletic events, so that’s certainly not out of the question and that has happened in the past.”

Currently, she said, there's sufficient staff to cover school-to-home bus runs, but depending on when field trips are scheduled, other supports or arrangements might be needed.

Scot Gorecki, superintendent of student engagement and learning with Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board, said they also understand the frustration staff and families are feeling right now.

“We know how much our students benefit from these field trips and extracurricular activities, and we would like nothing more than to ensure that transportation services are readily available and reliable for our schools,” he said in an email. “The reality is that, not unlike a lot of other organizations, the education sector is dealing with significant staffing shortages, and this includes bus drivers.”

The driver shortage is particularly complex, Gorecki added, especially given the Catholic board’s large geographic area.

“There is no doubt that COVID-19 further complicated an already tenuous situation," he said. "In addition to staffing shortages, there continues to be significant and chronic under-funding of transportation services in our board. This means that any out-of the-box solutions are limited because of funding restraints.”

SCSTC chief executive officer Kim Malkamaki said the consortium's priority is to provide home-to-school transportation for eligible students in Simcoe County.

"The SCSTC makes every effort to accommodate school bookings for athletic or field trip events when it does not impact the home-to-school runs," she said in an email. "Fulfilling these requests is based on a number of factors – the location of the trip, the date/times of the trips and whether or not those times interfere with home-to-school runs) and availability of drivers."

Meanwhile, Gorecki said the Catholic board is working closely with schools to find cost-effective solutions to address the issues. 

“As unfortunate as it is, we must recognize that it may be a very long time before we can return to post-COVID levels of service. We may have to start looking at transportation services and field trips and extracurricular activities in an entirely different way," said Gorecki.

"We are hopeful that by working together with our schools and transportation service providers, we can establish a creative and productive path forward for the benefit of our students," he added. 


Comments

Verified reader

If you would like to apply to become a verified commenter, please fill out this form.




About the Author: Nikki Cole

Nikki Cole has been a community issues reporter for BarrieToday since February, 2021
Read more