By Jessica Mathews/News@whmi.com


High school busing is on hold in South Lyon Community Schools due to a driver shortage.

Due to the shortage, students at South Lyon High School and South Lyon East were given the option to attend classes in-person and find their own transportation to and from school or attend classes virtually both today and Friday. In doing so, the district was able to bus elementary and middle school students as normal. Superintendent Steve Archibald said the district is short drivers due to one resignation, one leave of absence and four drivers quarantined due to COVID-19 this week, which resulted in nine routes unfilled. He told WHMI they have three open routes that they’ve been unable to fill, which equates to 9 total open routes.

The district hires its own bus drivers and has a staff of 42. However due to the pandemic, it has also had to contract with a company. That company works with multiple districts and didn’t have enough substitutes to fill all of the gaps in South Lyon.

Whether or not busing resumes for high school students next week will depend on the number of drivers who are quarantined. A letter that was sent out stated the district is working to resume normal transportation operations but cautioned that it’s possible the plan could continue next week.