CVUSD copes with bus driver shortage, parents concerned over link to tardiness and absences

The Coachella Valley Unified School District is trying to cope with an ongoing shortage of bus drivers. The challenge stems from the broader staffing concerns all three school districts in the Coachella Valley have been grappling with for months.

Naomi Moreno, a resident of North Shore, shared her concerns about the ripple effect this is having on children, including her teen daughter.

“There’s so many kids there, that half of them get pushed off the bus,” said Moreno. She added that children who don’t make it on the first bus usually have to wait for the next. However, that may not always guarantee every child has a seat.  

“The next bus doesn’t come for a couple of hours, or maybe like an hour and a half. that bus is already full of kids, and the next grade kids that get on fill it up, so whoever is waiting is you know left up in the air," said Moreno.

She also claimed that children who end up having to wait for more than an hour for a bus to school oftentimes end of arriving late. In other cases they ditch class altogether. Moreno said children "give up" and end up going home believing they won't arrive to campus on time anyways because of the busing situation.

"There's an adjustment. The first few days or few weeks of school, the bus has to understand how many students are there and how many students they have room for," according to Trinidad Arredondo, CVUSD School Board Trustee.

Arredondo added that bus drivers should call the district to request another bus to pick up the extra students, and added "we will pick up those students."

A Local Control and Accountability plan released by CVUSD ahead of the 2022-2023 school year shows several gaps that need to be addressed including “chronic absenteeism”

The report also acknowledges that importance of providing students with transportation due to the district’s “rural nature.” It notes that without transportation, "the majority of our students would not have the opportunity to attend or participate in after school enrichment, intervention, and other programs."

CVUSD spokeswoman Lissette Santiago said the district has 108 total buses on hand right now. 

There are 44 regular school bus routes and 26 special needs routes throughout the district. 

18 bus driver positions are currently open out of the 94 total the district would like filled.