Starting Monday, a different group of students will be able to take a bus to school — at least for the next three weeks — as the Anchorage School District moves to its next round of bus service rotations. ASD remains about 60 bus drivers short.
Behavior specialist Reta Boone greets students as they get off the bus at Dr. Etheldra Davis Fairview Elementary on the first day of school, Aug. 18, in Anchorage.
The school district implemented rolling bus service suspensions in response to a driver shortage it’s continuing to grapple with. Before the school year began, the district split families into three groups broadly based on geography. Each group receives school bus service for three weeks before going without bus service for six weeks, on a rotating basis. That means the last group won’t be able to take a bus to school until October, when it’s scheduled to receive its first service of the year.