BELOIT, Wis. (WFRV) — Two school districts, one in Wisconsin and another in Iowa, canceled classes Monday because there weren’t enough bus drivers to get all the students to and from the schools.
“We thank our families for their patience and understanding today,” officials at the School District of Beloit in Southern Wisconsin wrote in a Facebook post Monday. The city, which is home to roughly 37,000 people, is about 80 miles southwest of Milwaukee.
The school district said classes would resume Tuesday, but added that “busing transportation issues may continue for the remainder of this week” and told parents of students who take the bus that there may be changes to pick up and drop locations and times.
The state has been dealing with a shortage for months. In July, transportation company Lamers was hoping to fill positions at locations across Wisconsin, including at the Fox Cities terminal in Menasha.
“This is kind of an unprecedented shortage,” said Assistant Manager Ryan Schmidt back in July.
In Iowa, Davenport Community School District officials told parents early Monday that schools would not hold classes because of a severe lack of bus drivers. Monday would have been the first day back at school after a two-week holiday break.
This issue is not specific to Wisconsin and Iowa, as back in September over half the schools in the United States were reporting ‘severe’ shortages in bus staff.