School bus woes causing Roanoke students to run behind

ROANOKE, Va. (AP) — Students in Roanoke continue to arrive late to classrooms five weeks into the school year because of busy delays.

The Roanoke Times reports the transportation contractor for Roanoke City Public Schools is facing a driver shortage and is struggling to communicate with the community when buses are running late.

This is the first school year that Durham School Services provides busing services for the district. Company vice president Vice President John Ziegler has repeatedly apologized and vowed to fix issues.

The company says it works with over 400 schools systems in the U.S.

The newspaper reports the company is short of between 10 and 20 drivers in Roanoke. The staffing level has forced the contractor to double routes, creating a domino effect.

The district switched contractors after nine years.

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Information from: The Roanoke Times, http://www.roanoke.com