School buses not available for many Seattle Public School students once in person learning resumes

Many Washington parents face public school transportation challenges

Public school students are returning back to classroom, but many parents are worried about school transportation as some are experience lack of resources due to ongoing restrictions. Q13's Hana Kim reports.

SEATTLE - As many more parents get their children ready to go back to in-person learning, a new challenge has emerged.

The vast majority of students in Seattle haven’t stepped foot into a school building since last March. So when Dagny Hartmann heard Gov. Jay Inslee’s order mandating all schools to offer in-person instruction, the single mom was elated.

"That part I am really excited about," Hartmann said.

But that excitement quickly turned into angst for the single mom.

"The conversation last night was 'Oh my God, there will be no buses', they said there will only be transportation to those with IEP’s and those with special needs," Hartmann said.

Hartmann said her 8-year-old son is slated to do 4 half days in person at B.F. Day Elementary. But she said the expectation was for school buses to transport her son and other kids to after-school care.

"There are usually two full busloads of kids that go from B.F. Day to Wallingford Boys & Girls Club before COVID," Hartmann said.

She said she now expects fewer students will need that service but she still anticipates that many other parents will also be in a bind due to the lack of transportation.

Hartmann said the most logistically sound thing to do is to keep her son at childcare all day and do school remotely. 

"He’s not going to walk a mile across Aurora when he’s 8-years-old," Hartmann said.

Seattle Public Schools said right now they only have half the necessary number of bus drivers. The district said their bus contractor First Student furloughed the majority of their drivers. SPS needs 400 bus drivers to operate their normal routes but currently has 200.

When the pandemic first happened, SPS managed to keep some bus drivers on the payroll. Starting this year the district has not been paying for the bus service not needed due to remote learning.

SPS also adds that they did not anticipate Governor Inslee’s order to offer all students in-person learning by next month. The district is trying to catch up and will continue to recruit drivers.

But Hartmann said she’s back to square one.

"A lot of families are working and can’t pick up their kids in a couple of hours, I can’t figure out how to make it work," Hartmann said.

The single mom said she’s now considering leaving Seattle Public Schools for another district, following in line with 5 families she personally knows that have left because of schools.

"They’ve moved to Gig Harbor, Everett, Tacoma now Spokane," Hartmann said.

Q13 New reached out to half a dozen school districts to check in about their buses. So far, Lake Washington, Tacoma Public Schools, and Bethel School responded and said they will have bus service for all students who need it.