ST. LOUIS (AP) — The first day of school Monday was a chaotic affair for many St. Louis families after three bus companies canceled at the last minute and hundreds of parents had to rush to get their children to class.
St. Louis Public Schools became Difficulty in developing a plan to get children to class since March, when the Missouri Central School Bus Co. canceled its contract for the 2024-25 school year with the district, which serves about 19,600 students. With no replacement provider available, the solution has been to use other school bus companies, Metrobus, taxis and other shuttle services.
But the district announced Saturday that three providers announced this month that they would no longer be able to provide buses. While some parents received gas cards to pay for their own children’s transportation to school, the district was still working on alternative plans.
“Disruptions continue to occur at St. Louis Public Schools due to the shortage of buses and drivers,” the school district said in a statement. “We understand the challenges the shortage of buses and drivers presents to our families, and we are working tirelessly to find solutions and minimize disruptions for our students.”
Parents and volunteers stood at bus stops Monday morning and otherwise made sure children were safe and got their rides. Others worked to coordinate rides.
Tracy Fantini was one of those volunteering at a bus stop. She has a sixth-grader and a second-grader in St. Louis. They carpool, and Fantini has set up a Facebook page – SLPS Family Carpool Connection – to help other families arrange transportation.
By lunchtime, Fantini had heard some success stories from the parents – and also some failures, including stories about unavailable transportation.
AP correspondent Ed Donahue reports that getting to school is a challenge in St. Louis.
“I’ve always said that if we can’t get the children to school, nothing else matters,” Fantini said. “I hope that they all get to school as scheduled and that no children are left behind because they don’t have transportation.”
One of the bus companies, Xtra Care Transportation, notified the district on Saturday that it was unable to provide six buses to transport 1,000 students to 23 schools. The district did not provide a reason. Parents were notified via email and told they could pick up a gas card.
Shuttles Pro notified the district Wednesday that it would provide 25 buses, not the 45 originally planned. Parents assigned to Shuttles Pro received fuel cards.
Victorious Life International, a nonprofit based in Swansea, Illinois, notified the county on August 9 that it had failed to obtain the 10 buses it wanted to deploy in St. Louis.
The district did not disclose how many students were affected by the withdrawals of Shuttles Pro and Victorious Life International.
Telephone messages were left with all three bus companies on Monday. It was initially unclear what consequences the short-term decision to discontinue service might have for them.
District spokesman George Sells told reporters this month that the district would “evaluate how this system works and look at other options and ways to implement this. And I would say everything is on the table.”
Missouri Central said in a statement in March that the company had asked the St. Louis district for additional money “to address unprecedented inflation in the industry and the nationwide shortage of school bus drivers.” The school district said the company had asked for an additional $2 million. When the district refused, Missouri Central dropped out for the 2024-25 school year.
In February, a black mechanic at Missouri Central said he found a noose at his workplacewhich he believed was intended to send a racist message and intimidate him after an argument with a manager over Mitchell’s concerns that some bus brakes were inadequate. Missouri Central officials said the racism allegations had “caused irreparable damage to their reputation,” the district said in March.
In August 2023 Kentucky’s largest school district was plagued by problems on the first day. A redesign of Louisville’s bus routes meant that some students were not picked up in the morning or did not arrive home until hours later – some after dark. The district serves about 96,000 students.
