Brookfield Schools Inform Parents of Bus Shortages All This Week
As we reported before the school year even started, the shortage of school bus drivers this year would cause havoc with transporting students to and from their schools.
Now the Brookfield Schools have sent out a notice to parents that due to the shortage of drivers and the Governor's vaccine mandate for drivers, bus service for their kids may be interrupted all this week.
According to registercitizen.com, the letter, which was sent to parents on Sunday, explained that there may be interrupted service this week due to the new COVID-19 vaccine order sent down by Governor Ned Lamont. The order required all school bus drivers to be fully vaccinated by today, (September 27).
Because of this vaccine mandate, the company which covers Brookfield Schools, as well as many other districts throughout the state, is now experiencing an added reduction in the number of its drivers
Since the school year started, All Star Transportation and other school bus companies have been able to manage with the overall driver shortage, but now with the vaccine mandate going into effect, many of the drivers who were on the job will no longer be able to drive without getting vaccinated.
Once they can get a handle on who's been vaccinated and can drive, the Brookfield School District will inform parents via e-mail as to whether certain bus routes will be affected.
The towns school superintendent, John W. Barile, stated in his letter that he is anticipating that the school district will be able to handle all routes, at least for Monday. Right now, they are playing it day to day as they see the amount of drivers who are available.
Other local school districts in the area are also experiencing the same issues, like Danbury schools who already have a system set up where they pay staff extra to supervise students after school while they wait for their buses. In New Fairfield, where they have also sent out a notice to parents about possible school bus service interruptions, they are looking at alternative plans in the event not enough drivers are allowed to drive if they haven't been vaccinated yet.