Hundreds of students in the Massachusetts communities of Marlborough and Framingham are still getting to school late because of a bus shortage, and the districts say that's leading to learning loss in the classroom.
The two school districts said they have a contract with NRT Bus Inc., which they say does not have enough drivers to service their contracts.
“Since the beginning of this school year, due to issues with NRT staffing, NRT has consistently failed to provide buses for all routes bid on, which include 33 big buses,” Marlborough Superintendent Mary Murphy said in a statement. “As a result, up to several hundred students are arriving a minimum of thirty minutes late to school daily and leaving school up to one hour late. We’re most concerned for students with special needs, and those in underserved communities, all of whom are increasingly facing daily uncertainties. Many of these students are missing the support services they rely on.”
“In Framingham, we are a district of more than 9,000 students. We are down 20 drivers in the morning and closer to 25 drivers every afternoon,” added Framingham Superintendent Robert Tremblay. “We continue to be significantly short on drivers with no indication of improvement and our buses are consistently late. It has long been established that bus delays are directly connected to significant difficulties experienced by students, families, and educators alike. The bottom line is our students deserve better.”
NBC10 Boston has reached out to the bus company seeking comment.
The unpredictable departure and arrival times are also putting added stress on parents, the school leaders said, causing them to be late to work or worry about their child. The districts said they are also incurring thousands of dollars in unexpected costs because school employees are being forced to work additional hours to supervise students after school until the buses arrive.
The busing issues are also impacting Marlborough's Advanced Math and Science Academy, whose administrators say only 37% of buses are arriving on time.
“This leaves over 100 students waiting for an hour or more for transportation, which is completely unacceptable,” AMSA Executive Director Lisa Mobley said.
The school districts have sent a letter to the company asking for changes and has also alerted the state attorney general's office. They said the bus company has yet to respond to thier letter.
