With more than 100 bus driver positions left unfilled ahead of the school year, the Douglas County School District is moving to rolling cancellations for all bus routes. 

Last year, Superintendent Erin Kane called transportation a “pain point” in the district because a lack of staffing led to frequent day-of cancellations. Going into the 2023-24 school year, staffing is down even more than last year.

In an effort to avoid short-notice cancellations this year, the district surveyed parents and families on various short-term solutions until more staff can be hired.

Paula Hans, spokesperson for the district, said the district understands having rolling cancellations is hard for families and continues to look for solutions. The rolling cancellations will impact all general education routes.

“Of course, we recognize that none of the options were ideal, and we are committed to continuing our driver and assistant recruiting efforts over the course of this year,” Hans said in an email.

Hans said the district’s transportation team will email families in advance to notify them of which routes will be canceled. Throughout the school year, each route will run for four weeks and then be off for one week.

Transportation staffing is down 104 bus drivers and  32 transportation education assistants, who are responsible for monitoring special education students with moderate to severe needs and challenging or emotional difficulties on school buses.

Hans said that even with rolling cancellations, some routes may still experience day-of cancellations.

“In the case where drivers or assistants are out, we will first do our best to cover any vacant routes with internal staff prior to moving forward with a cancellation,” she said. 

Already, the district has consolidated 30% of its bus routes, increased the outsourcing of special education routes to third-party transportation providers and reduced daytime field trips to keep staff available.

Hans added that families who paid for an annual bus pass will receive a partial refund to offset the cancellations. 

Compared to surrounding districts, Douglas County's transportation pay is one of the lowest in the metro area. Douglas County starts bus drivers with commercial driver’s licenses at $22.86 per hour and transportation assistants start at $17.62 per hour.

The Cherry Creek School District starts bus drivers at $23.18 per hour and assistants start at $17.74 per hour. 

Lauren Snell, a spokesperson for Cherry Creek schools, said the district is working to fill 30 open bus driver positions and isn’t facing the same transportation challenges as Douglas County.

However, Snell said hiring transportation staff isn’t particularly challenging. 

“Right now, people want to come work for Cherry Creek,” she said.

Snell said no routes will be canceled this year and cancellations weren’t an issue last year either.

In an email to families, Kane said it’s hard for Douglas County to offer competitive pay because of limited district funding. Currently, the district is offering paid training and $1,000 sign-on bonuses for select positions to try entice employees. 

“While this is a challenge affecting school districts across the country, our funding situation makes the challenge more acute for our district,” she said. 

The school board will be voting on whether to put a $66 million mill levy override and $484 million bond on the 2023 ballot to pay more competitive salaries for staff and build new schools at the Aug. 8 meeting.