LAND O' LAKES -- The Pasco School District changed school starting and ending times in the middle of the year, to put an end to students missing class because of a bus driver shortage.
But in spite of that, the district is telling parents in phone and text messages that at least some bus runs will be "very delayed" this week.
The reason, according to the Pasco school district, is the recent spike of COVID-19 cases blamed on the Omicron variant, which is dominant in Florida now.
"When you add in the impact of call outs and illness, the result is serious staffing issues and delays, which is having a big impact on our transportation department and schools," the message said. The note also added that parents should consider taking their children to school themselves.
The school district apologizes in the message, and says that students on late buses won't be counted as tardy and will get to eat school breakfast.
The note urges parents to "be part of the solution" by applying to become a bus driver or referring someone else. Starting pay is $12.23 an hour during training at $13.40 once training is finished.
Just last week, the district implemented new start times for schools to enable a smaller force of bus drivers to cover all routes without delays.
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