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Jefferson Parish, La. (WGNO) — If your child rides the school bus, heads up. You need to be on alert this morning, your child might not have a ride today. WGNO has been told by parents, that some bus drivers are calling out “sick” on Friday, March 4 and are not going to pick up bus riders.

Buses should be rolling out now but, we have heard a few buses are not.

WGNO has spoken to a couple of parents who say they called the transportation dispatch and were told that some bus drivers are “standing out and not picking up their load of children.” The parents were also told that if their child’s bus is not coming, they will get a “J-call” this morning.

So parents, be listening for that call Friday morning.

According to the JP Schools Director of Communications, Paris Vinnett, 49 drivers called in. The school district issued the following statement to parents:

We wanted to make you aware of a potential disruption to bus transportation. We received information today about a potential bus driver sick-out this afternoon and tomorrow. At this point, we have not received official notice from any representative of the bus drivers as to the reasons for this threatened job action.  

We notify families about bus service interruptions as soon as we learn that a route will not be serviced. Should a bus driver notify us that they will not drive their assigned route, the district will notify families via a robo call to drop off and/or pick up their child(ren). In the event that a bus driver does not notify the district that they do not intend to cover their assigned route, schools will notify families as soon as possible so that families can arrange to drop off and/or pick up their child(ren). If your bus route isn’t covered and you are not able to drop off your child(ren), your child(ren)’s absence will be excused.

Safe, reliable transportation is one of the main operational functions of a public school system. Over 30,000 families rely on us for transportation every day. Anything short of a full fleet on the road is unacceptable for us. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our families, and we thank you for your flexibility and understanding.

Jefferson Parish Schools, March 2022

Remember a few weeks ago, there was a similar situation happening in St. Tammany Parish. The bus drivers were saying they wanted to pull a “sick-out,” which means they all call out sick to make a statement.
Well, now there’s creditable reason to believe bus drivers in Jefferson Parish are trying to do the same thing.

From our sources, WGNO was told this is about bus drivers’ pay. The bus drivers want more money and more benefits.

Over 30,000 families rely on transportation every day, so this could cause a major disruption. School administrators say they have not heard from the bus drivers union but, they’ve received information that some drivers might not show up.

On Thursday, March 3, 2022, the Jefferson Parish School Administration sent out an email to all JP Families.
In this letter, they notified the families of the situation at hand and apologized for any inconvenience this may cause.

If parents can’t make other arrangements to get their kids to school, the absence will be excused.

This is a developing story, we will have more updates soon.