Bus driver shortages means some southwest IL students need to provide their own ride

Most Granite City School District 9 students in fifth grade and up will need to find their own ride to school, according to a letter from Superintendent Stephanie Cann.

Between Tuesday and Friday, only students in grades kindergarten through fourth grade and any K-12 students with door-to-door transport as part of their special education services will have bus transportation.

The district contracts with Illinois Central, which Cann said is facing a severe bus driver shortage. Earlier this week, the district posted several updates on its Facebook page about buses running up to 45 minutes late.

“At this time, we have no assurance that transportation will be available for all of our students tomorrow,” Cann wrote. “We are not willing to risk our students waiting for buses that may not arrive.”

The district said it is working on a long-term solution with the Illinois State Board of Education, the Madison County Regional Office of Education and Illinois Central.

On Tuesday, the Madison County Transit Board of Trustees announced they would be offering free rides on the fixed-route buses to those students affected by the bus driver shortage through Sept. 30.

According to the district, MCT’s bus routes encompass the three schools affected: Grigsby, Coolidge and Granite City High School.

Students will need to display either a district student ID, a schedule from the Skyward app, or a district-assigned Chromebook with a label or asset tag.

This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 1:53 PM.