WILSON COUNTY, Tenn. — Parents in Wilson County are scrambling.
Many families said during the rush to get ready and get out the door for school in the morning they're getting calls and emails telling them the bus won't be taking their child to school.
Parents reached out frustrated, wanting to know what was going on.
I went to Wilson County to see why the county says they need help.
“These are the emails we get about delayed or down to bus routes,” said parent Lily Brady.
Brady said she's printed out hundreds of emails documenting unreliable bus routes. Now her patience has worn out.
“It is definitely progressively gotten worse. The stack is much thicker than the rest of them,” said Brady.
And she says they come at the worst time of day: the hectic morning when she and her son, Conlan, are getting ready for the bus to show up.
“He will stand at that door at that window for an hour and a half, not move stand there,” said Brady.
Brady said her son loves school. But she said that given his autism it's important he stays on a schedule. That schedule gets thrown off when the bus drops him off at school an hour late.
“You can physically see the stress on him so it’s hard. It’s frustrating, and as a parent, it’s hard for him,” said Brady.
The district has a pretty simple answer for what the problem is: They just don’t have enough people who want to sit in this seat.
“It’s not only here. It’s a lot of places, and I know in our district is something we’ve tried to combat and tried to generate more drivers over the past five years, 10 years,” said Bart Barker, Wilson County Schools spokesperson.
Barker said you name it they've tried it: job fairs, "now hiring" signs and advertising. He said for years they're been about 15 drivers short of fully staffed.
“We understand the frustrations and inconveniences,” said Barker.
He said when drivers call out, others behind the desk with commercial driver’s licenses are getting behind the wheel to take kids to school.
They're hoping more will feel motivated to help.
“You have to know there are going to be hiccups along the way and developing that backup plan to see what happens in the event my child’s bus is down to have that plan of action ready to go,” said Barker.
“I’ve always been able to trust the county can get my kid to school on time, and I can’t here. That’s a problem,” said Brady.
Brady said she's holding up her end of the bargain, getting her child to school.
She said it's time the district do more.
Barker said the pay for a Wilson County school bus driver is comparable to other middle Tennessee districts.
The starting pay is about $22 an hour.
