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Dripping Springs ISD cancels some bus routes due to bus driver shortage
Dripping Springs ISD has canceled some bus routes less than a week before school starts due to a bus driver shortage.
DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas - Less than a week before school starts for Dripping Springs ISD, parents are scrambling to find ways for their kids to get to school. The bus driver shortage has caused the district to cancel some bus routes.
The district needs to hire 12 bus drivers and four bus monitors.
Parent Morgan Jacob has children in middle school and high school. She lives in a "no service zone."
"[When I found out, I felt] anger at first, I'm like, 'what is this?' School starts in one week," she said.
"No service zones" can have varying distances from schools.
"We got the email saying we were in the no bus zone, and I was shocked because we live five miles from the school," Jacob said. "You can't really have any kids walking on [Highway] 290 to the high school or the middle school."
RELATED: Major bus driver shortage as Lake Travis ISD starts school year
She says her family is trying to make it work.
"I'm going to have to try to reschedule meetings and try to be more flexible, and my husband's going to try to get home from work early to pick the kids up," she said.
Jacob says traffic can also make the trip much longer. She says she's meeting with neighbors this weekend to try to figure out a schedule.
"For us, we will make it work with family and friends and neighbors, but it's a big school district, I can't imagine everyone's going to make it work every day," she said.
In email to parents, the school district says they understand the change can be a burden to families, and they apologize for the inconvenience.
For middle school students, there's a before school program.
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Lake Travis ISD starting school year with major bus driver shortage
Lake Travis ISD said out of about 80 bus driver positions, the district only has about half that number on staff.
Dripping Springs ISD says they're continuing to recruit and will try to bring back services to areas that have been hit hardest.
Starting pay for bus drivers is $21.50 per hour. No experience is needed, and training is paid. You can also get $1,000 in incentive pay if you're hired by Sept. 1.
The district says part of the delay is because it can take four to six weeks to get a commercial driver's license.
Meanwhile, parents are left to figure things out themselves.
"What happens if I can't get my kids to school, is there an online option, will they just skip for the day?" Jacob said.
If you want to apply, click here: dsisdtx.us/hr