Lincoln-Way Schools To Limit Bus Service Due To Driver Shortage

NEW LENOX, IL — Just as students at the three Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 schools are set to resume in-person learning next week, a bus driver shortage will limit transportation throughout the district.

In a message posted to the district's website Thursday, Superintendent Scott Tingley notified students and parents that each school will go without bus service for one day each: Lincoln-Way West, in New Lenox, will not have service Monday; Lincoln-Way Central, also in New Lenox, will not have service Tuesday; and Lincoln-Way East, in Frankfort, will be without service on Wednesday, the district advised.

"We recognize that this disruption causes additional stress on families, however, in the short term, this is what must be done to return to in-person learning," Tingley wrote.

The bus driver shortage has been affecting schools throughout the school year, with many schools forced to limit bus service or cancel classes entirely because of the driver shortage.

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Lincoln-Way D210 is approximately 20 bus drivers short of "full staff," Tingley said. The district provides bus service to its feeder schools, which requires about 10-15 drivers, in addition to students at the three high schools.

The district has been proactive in trying to hire more bus drivers, Tingley said. Drivers that completed the first semester will receive a $1,000 bonus this month, and any driver that finishes the second semester will receive the same bonus, including both existing drivers and anyone hired between now and the end of the semester.

"That's just a motivation for people to keep driving with us, or maybe to incentivize somebody to sign on," Tingley said.

One significant obstacle in the hiring process is that Illinois Secretary of State offices are closed through Jan. 17. That means that even if Lincoln-Way D210 hired more drivers today, those drivers would not be able to get tested for their licenses and start driving until after the 17th, Tingley said.

But there may be some relief may be in sight. The Illinois Department of Public Health updated on Friday its guidance for schools as it pertains to COVID-19 quarantine and isolation periods. State health officials adopted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendation that the quarantine and isolation periods be shortened from 10 days to five for those who previously tested positive for COVID-19 but were no longer showing symptoms.

That shortening of the quarantine time will help get some of the district's bus drivers back out on the road quicker, Tingley said.

"We're optimistic by the end of next week we won't have to continue with these rolling blackouts for the high schools," Tingley said. "That's what we're hoping."