The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed holes in the United States’ supply chain and its labor availability. As restaurants, retail stores and public transportation companies struggle to recruit enough employees, the consequences of the ongoing labor shortage has spread as far as students' ability to get to school. 

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    For the high schools in the Syracuse City School District, public transportation is their ride to and from school. Lisa Wade, Chief Human Resources Officer in the district, says students risk coming late to school if buses cut back on routes. 

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   “If the students have to catch an earlier bus, or come a little later, it could affect their first period, if they're late because of bus routes, and that's not fair to our students. The education of our students should be a priority,” says Wade. 

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    Centro, the public transportation provider for Syracuse and neighboring counties, has faced a shortage of bus drivers and has subsequently cut down on its routes. According to a recent article by Syracuse.com, Centro has completely ended all bus service to places like Manlius, LaFayette and North Syracuse, to name a few.

 

    Steven Koegel, Vice President of Communications and Business Planning, says Centro is actively looking to hire upwards of 50 bus drivers.

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    The difficulty of getting to school adds to the problems the district faces. Scott Persampieri, Director of Recruitment and Selection in the Syracuse City School District, says students already face challenges such as poverty and homelessness.

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    “When you’re in a larger, urban district, you’re going to have higher numbers of students exposed to these types of things. Poverty is a fact of life in many urban districts, and certainly is in this area,” says Persampieri.

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    Jeremy Smith, the Director of Transportation in the Syracuse City School District, was unavailable for comment. 

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    Despite these concerns within the school district, Koegel says Centro is still providing complete busing services to all students. 

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    “Our bus driver shortage hasn’t affected the service we provide for the Syracuse City School District. We are operating all of those services as we have for years,” says Koegel. 

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    It isn’t just New York that is suffering from the labor shortage. According to a recent study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the economy is adding jobs but not workers. The report, using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, referenced the Worker Shortage Index which calculates the ratio of an industry’s job openings to unemployed workers. In July 2021, the index was 0.9, meaning there were more jobs than unemployed workers. 

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    Wade says that the school district has been successful in curbing the labor shortage when it comes to hirings teachers and executives. However, factors such as transportation can be uncontrollable and despite Koegel’s assurance that Centro is operating at full capacity, Wade remains adamant about the bus company’s responsibility to SCSD students. 

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    “We have a contract with Centro and they really need to make sure our students get to school on time. Our students shouldn’t be last in the decision making process of rerouting buses,” says Wade.