Note: This message was shared via email with District families and staff on Sunday morning.
Good morning,
I’m writing to address transportation issues we have been experiencing in Manchester School District since the start of the school year. These workforce-related issues include significant delays, crowded buses, and cancelation of routes by a busing provider.
It is important to note that this year, our school bus routes are served by two companies: Student Transportation of America (STA) and Manchester Transit Authority (MTA). STA is a new provider for the District and covers roughly half of our bus routes, while (MTA) covers the remaining routes. Unfortunately, STA does not currently have enough drivers to cover these routes.
Late Friday afternoon, STA informed the Manchester School District that it cannot provide transportation for charter schools at this time due to a workforce shortage. In addition to our own schools, the District must provide transportation for city students who attend charter schools. We notified these charter schools early Friday evening that STA had canceled all of their bus routes at this time, until the company can hire more drivers.
We are deeply sorry for the impact this is having on students, families and the schools. Manchester School District has been working nonstop with any available transportation providers to find coverage for these charter school routes. We greatly appreciate our additional transportation providers for their dedication as they work with us to find solutions. As soon as we are able, we will provide updates directly to the affected charter schools.
All other routes for District schools will continue to operate, however the schools served by STA will continue to experience delays until the company can hire more drivers. These schools include: Memorial, West, Parkside, Southside, Parker-Varney, Jewett, Beech Street, Northwest, McDonough, Bakersville and Highland.
Please remember that the best long-term solution is for MTA and STA to hire more bus drivers. We strongly encourage anyone who is interested in driving a bus to apply today with MTA at https://mtabus.org/manchester-transit-careers/ or STA at https://stacareers.com/.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Chmiel Gillis, Ed.D
Superintendent of Schools