Parents scramble to get kids to school amid bus driver shortage in southeastern Manitoba

Parents have been forced to scramble together car pools and other means of getting their kids to class at short notice due to bus driver shortages in a southeastern Manitoba school division.

That's the position Sheri St. Laurent and other parents of students in the Seine River School Division find themselves in this week.

St. Laurent said she was caught off-guard Monday afternoon when she received a text message and then a letter from the Seine River School Division. The letters said that several school bus routes would be cancelled starting Tuesday due to driver shortages.

"Everybody was in a panic. Like, what are we doing with our kids? You know, what's going to happen? They have a whole bunch of tests this week," said St. Laurent, whose 16-year-old goes to high school in Lorette. "We're just trying to make this work to focus on the kids because it's stressful on them."

The school division letter apologizes for disruptions and says bus driver shortages are being experienced "in many other school divisions across Manitoba."

Although the letter doesn't go into the reason for the lack of drivers, it was sent on the day thousands of Manitoba school workers had to be double-vaccinated or agree to COVID-19 testing three times a week. Those who are unvaccinated and refuse testing have been put on unpaid leave.

The division is mulling contingency plans that could include cancelling bus transportation for students that live within 1.6 kilometres of their school and diverting the buses that are still running to those who live father away.

Another possibility is having kids get picked up sooner before school or later afterward to allow some buses to do double runs

"This is a very challenging situation and the transportation department is working diligently to find the best possible solutions," reads the letter to parents signed by division superintendent Simon Laplante. "In the event we are not able to transport certain students for an undetermined period, we will be contacting parents individually."

The letter goes on to say the division is looking for bus drivers, and encourages parents to consider referring anyone who might be interest in going through training to contact its transportation department.

About 4,400 students attend 15 Seine River School Division schools in La Salle, St. Norbert, Île des Chênes, St. Adolphe, Lorette, La Broquerie, Ste. Anne and Richer, according to the division website.

The division is part of the Southern Health, one of five regions in Manitoba, and has the lowest vaccination rate of them all.

Elsewhere in the region, care homes are currently experiencing staffing shortages for the same reasons involving unvaccinated staff refusing to regular testing and being put on unpaid leave.

St. Laurent said school officials have been responsive to concerns and trying to help parents co-ordinate rides together in the short-term.

"But that doesn't help my child's education at this point," she said. "They really couldn't offer any solutions."

St. Laurent said she's grateful a group of parents including her were able to arrange a car pool to get through the next while. She doesn't think it's sustainable or affordable for long, due to high gas prices and the reliance on parents to take off work early.

She said she is disappointed some bus drivers who are unvaccinated have rejected the accommodations designed for them in the form of routine COVID-19 testing.

"I am sad that that's how they felt, that they needed to leave their workplace," she said.

"My child's education is number one, and that's being affected by choices that I have no control over."

CBC News requested comment from the division late Wednesday night and has yet to hear back.