'It's been terrible': N.S. parents frustrated with constant school bus cancellations

School bus cancellations are leaving some Nova Scotia students with unexpected days off.

The cancellation notifications are constant on Jessica Cleveland’s phone who lives in East Hants. Cleveland has two children – one in elementary school and one in high school. Both are missing time because of buses not running.

“Almost every day there's a text message saying that there's one or more buses, not running,” she says.

“I start work before my daughter goes to school so if her bus is cancelled, she just has to stay home most times. She can't get to school. She has exams this year so she's missing valuable classroom time.”

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At Cleveland’s last count, her daughter has missed 10 days of school, which is now affecting her grades.

“She's falling behind, she's totally falling behind. I’m at the point now where I’m going to hire a tutor,” she said.

Jessica Cleveland of East Hants in Nova Scotia is pictured. (CTV Atlantic/Jonathan MacInnis)

In an email to CTV News, a spokesperson for the Chignecto Central Regional Centre for Education (CCRE) says they have been experiencing a bus driver shortage, and they recognize the disruptions these cancellations can cause.

“Although we have full-time drivers, we have limited casual bus drivers. This means we have limited options to backfill drivers when a driver is sick or off work due to other sudden, unplanned reasons,” said Jennifer Rodgers.

The school board does have some strategies in place to reduce impact, which are to:

• ask drivers to double-up a run and cover off a route where a driver is sick
• consolidate two bus runs into one if space is available and the routes are close to one another
• have a rotating schedule to try to ensure bus routes are not impacted multiple days
• transfer licensed drivers from other roles/departments within CCRCE to drive when required

For Cleveland's children, it’s too far to walk to school and it’s 20 minutes by car. To limit missed days, she has been late for work, left early or organized last-minute carpooling.

“It's been terrible this year,” Cleveland says.

However, there may be some relief coming after Christmas.

The school board says there are several drivers signed up for the training course in January. When they're done, they will be assigned to the East Hants area.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page.