The East Brunswick School District is off to a rough start as a shortage of bus drivers is affecting scheduling.  

“We have to drive our kids to the school,” says Vivian Song. “The bus is going to be 30 to 40 minutes late, and I don’t want my kids to go to school late.”

Students, parents and sports teams are affected, as are bus drivers as it appears their work responsibilities are doubling in some cases.  

“The bus contractor or one of them that we use has a number of resignations just Friday afternoon,” says Superintendent Victor Valeski.

In a notice sent out to East Brunswick parents, the bus routes below will be around 30-40 minutes late:

CH0007AM/PM
FR0009AM
FR0010AM/PM
IR0009AM/PM
IR0010AM
LB0005AM/PM
WA0005AM/PM

The schools affected are Churchill Junior High, Irwin, Frost, Warnsdorfer and Lawrence Brook Elementary.

The notice told parents the bus driver shortage is due to unexpected resignations and illnesses. The district is working to alleviate the shortage, but that may take several weeks and will impact certain bus routes. 

Bus routes will be combined where possible into the foreseeable future, and buses will double back for additional student pickups when necessary. Parents will be informed daily of changes affecting their children.

“I know some parents had emailed me last night saying can’t you spread the pain around a little bit, that just leads to inconsistency for so many people,” says Valeski. “I’ll continue to update the community this week. We probably will see some changes in the next day or two.”

All middle school athletic practices were canceled today with the exception of middle school cross-country because they will practice at Churchill, according to the athletic supervisor.