Syracuse City School Parents React to Possible Busing Solutions Syracuse City School Parents React to Possible Busing Solutions

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — One month ago, Syracuse City School District students of all ages physically attended school for the first time in over a year. However, hope for a fully in-person school year is dwindling due to the national bus driver shortage that has caused most of the district’s buses to be late every day.

The district is now considering temporary options to address the fact that there are not enough bus runs to get students to and from school on time. One of these options is switching back to virtual instruction.

Samantha Pierce, a mother of four children at three different schools, said her kids have strong feelings about online school.

“My children have made it quite clear that they hate remote learning and they will not do it under any circumstances,” Pierce said.

Some parents are concerned about their kids returning to social isolation following a taste of normalcy. Emily Kulkus, PTO President of Syracuse Latin School and mother of two, said she hopes the district only considers virtual instruction as a last resort.

“School is always supposed to be there, and when you take that away, that changes everything,” Kulkus said.

A less drastic measure being tabled is changing the start and end times of certain schools. Kulkus said her children had different start and end times last year for social distancing purposes and this was a major inconvenience for her family. Yet, she said anything is better than the current busing situation.

“If it comes down to kids not being able to get to school at all and parents who are on very limited incomes having to pay for an Uber to get their kids to school, then yes I’m all for it,” Kulkus said. “School is open. We have to get our kids there.”