Single mother Danielle Sewell waits every week during the school year for a message. The message will determine her schedule for the entire week and that of her three children, aged 15, 13 and 7. But this message doesn’t have to do with work. It’s if her kids’ school bus has a driver that week.
“Every Sunday, we wait patiently for the nighttime message that maybe the bus will run one or two days this week, but almost never does it run both morning and afternoon and never has it ran a full week straight,” Sewell said.
Sewell’s kids ride Bus 163, which has not had a permanent driver since March. And out of every bus route in the Macon County Schools’ system, Bus 163 has been the least consistent in the 2024-25 school year. This past Sunday (Nov. 3), the message was that Bus 163 would not run Monday afternoon or Friday afternoon.
According to school Facebook posts, as of the end of October, there have been 57 announcements that a bus won’t run on certain days or certain mornings or afternoons in the 2024-25 school year, which began Aug. 26.
Bus 163 serves up to 15 kids going to East Franklin Elementary and Mountain View Intermediate. That bus route alone had 16 announcements that the route would not run on select dates through October.
Bus 103, which services between 38-41 Mountain View Intermediate kids in the morning and 25-27 in the afternoon, has been canceled at least nine times this school year.
Like most of Western North Carolina, Macon County faces a constant bus driver shortage and is always advertising for drivers.
According to MCS Transportation Director Todd Gibbs as of Nov. 1, they are short one full route and one afternoon route. Substitute drivers fill in on two routes and vacancies as time permits.
There are 52 yellow school buses used on any given day in the MCS fleet. Three buses each are Highlands only and Nantahala only, with the other 46 buses serving the nine Franklin area schools. Out of those Franklin-area buses, five are Exceptional Children buses that serve 55 EC students. Most of the Franklin-area buses transport kids to and from different schools.
Starting pay for a Macon County bus driver is $16.07 an hour, which tops out at $19.46 after 20 years. Gibbs said the state of North Carolina pays that rate for yellow school bus drivers (white activity bus drivers are paid for by local, school or athletic funds). Counties can add extra pay on top of that state rate if they choose.
According to Macon County ridership numbers for this school year, between 1,489-1,558 kids ride the school bus in the morning and 1,760-1,830 kids ride in the afternoon.
At times, buses have shared routes, but Gibbs said it’s not always possible due to scheduling and overloading of buses.
If one of those buses doesn’t run, it can lead to a tough decision for parents who don’t have the means to get their kids to school.
“I have absolutely had to choose to let some kids stay home some days when I can’t make it to get them all to school and work on time in Sylva without being penalized at my job,” said Stephanie Willard, mom of nine kids who go to four different schools in Macon County.
Sewell said it’s not ideal to sit in three different car drop-off lines at three different schools and get to work by 8-8:30 a.m. But the issues have continued this year.
“The school system literally had all summer to find someone and obviously they were not concerned,” Sewell said. “Last school year, there was a driver for the afternoon route. But many afternoons, last minute, we would be messaged that we needed to pick up our kids.”
The result has meant her kids are late for school, and due to her car breaking down, Sewell had to rent a car to get the kids to school.
“It feels hopeless, like we will never have a full-time bus driver,” Sewell stated. “We feel like no one cares. We feel invisible. I’ve spoken to Gibbs and nothing gets done. They must assume everyone is a stay-at-home parent with gas money. It’s beyond frustrating that they have funds for a new high school, but dozens of families are struggling getting Macon County students to school.”
N.C. bus driver training
• Three days of classroom/online training.
Computer requirements - camera, microphone, speaker capable. Some tablets and phones don’t work. The person must be in front of the computer the whole three days. The trainers check to make sure students are still “on-screen.”
Online three-day training sessions are offered the first and third full week of every month, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of those weeks.
Fourth day reserved for face-to-face test session with local bus driver trainer (Stacey Posey). Usually at the Board of Education Central Office. Test covers items covered in the online class and takes one to two hours.
• Drug Screen - Provided, and paid for by Macon County Schools
• CDL/DOT physical: These are provided free of charge at the Central Office every Wednesday 8:30-10:30 a.m. and 2:30-5 p.m.
• CDL Permit: obtained from N.C. Drivers License Examiner’s Office, must be possessed at least 14 days prior to behind-the-wheel training
• Three days of behind-the-wheel training with local bus driver trainer (Stacey Posey)
• Obtain permanent CDL license at NC Drivers License Examiner’s Office.
There is no cost for: online class, behind-the-wheel training, drug screen, and CDL physical.
There is a cost for: CDL permit and permanent CDL. License/permit fees are reimbursable with submission of proper receipt, and properly filled out and signed Macon County Schools “Reimbursement Form.”