ST. LOUIS — A request to all ºüÀêÊÓƵ Public Schools employees about driving school buses this fall was not intended for teachers, Superintendent Keisha Scarlett said Friday after the plan was met with swift backlash.
“I want to apologize for the confusion and concerns regarding a message that our instructional staff received asking them to serve as bus drivers. This was absolutely not our intent,†Scarlett wrote in a message to SLPS staff.
In a staff email Thursday, chief operations officer Square Watson wrote, “We are rolling out a survey to all district staff to identify those who already hold a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) and are willing to drive a bus if needed, as well as those who are interested in receiving free training to obtain a CDL.â€
Several teachers said they were shocked and offended by the request, which does not mention compensation for any additional responsibilities.
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Scarlett said that the survey “should have been directed exclusively to non-instructional staff.â€
The staff survey is the latest move in an ongoing transportation crisis for SLPS. A bus driver shortage left thousands of students stranded during the school year, with an average of 20 routes canceled daily. Parents received gas cards or cash to drive their kids to the last two weeks of school. The contract with bus company Missouri Central terminates next month.
“In the spirit of a village approach to support our students, one idea we are exploring is adding interested and licensed non-instructional staff to our pool of backup drivers to ensure we are making the best use of our internal resources,†Scarlett wrote Friday.
The SLPS board approved plans to work this fall with 19 transportation vendors, which include several day care centers and churches with shuttles.