Eleventh grade AP Language & Composition teacher at the Brooke Charter School in Boston, Jim Mayers said, “And when you promise hundreds of kids a fun day with their advisories, you make it happen.”
“Due to the national school bus driver shortage, my school has hired a party bus with stripper poles to transport us for a field trip. This is not a drill.”
Mayers said the original bus charter for the field trip had fallen through halfway through the week, leaving them to find a last minute alternative.
“It is a funny story, but there actually is a real bus shortage and it speaks to major flaws in our education system,” said Mayers. “This in no way is a reflection of anyone involved in planning the trip, we were trying to have a fun day with the kids and that’s exactly what happened.”
“School bus drivers don’t grow on trees,” John McCarthy, the CEO of NRT Bus, told WBZ. “They are highly trained at what they do. It’s hard enough to take care of their own kids, never mind 72 kids on a regular basis.”
McCarthy reportedly said that the large transportation provider is about 300 drivers short for the beginning of the school year, adding that drivers are still concerned about COVID-19.
