Due to a school bus driver shortage, a Boston school resorted to using a party bus with a stripper pole for a field trip.
Jim Mayers, a teacher at the Brooke Charter School, posted a now-deleted tweet about the bus experience on September 17, as reported by MassLive. The party bus was booked after a charter service cancelled their booking. Additionally, a yellow bus wasn’t available due to a school bus driver shortage.
“It is a funny story, but there actually is a real bus shortage and it speaks to major flaws in our education system,” Mayers wrote. “This in no way is a reflection of anyone involved in planning the trip, we were trying to have a fun day with the kids and that’s exactly what happened.”
“And when you promise hundreds of kids a fun day with their advisories, you make it happen,” he added.
The tweet went viral, and Mayers eventually deleted it. In another message, the educator urged the media to priority real issues instead of the party bus story.
“To the extent that news organizations are interested in investigating the larger story of the National Guard driving buses in MA, I can only say that I am generally in favor of any reporting that helps the public understand the many changes educators and operations staff face on a daily basis,” Mayers wrote. “Especially in the wake of the pandemic and impacts of remote instruction. I don’t think a story about a tweet does either of those things.”
Last week, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker activated the National Guard to provide servicemen to drive school buses in at least nine districts, reported Boston.com.
School districts across the national are dealing with bus driver shortages. State governors are deploying several tactics to combat the problem, according to The Hill.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is considering following Baker’s lead with a National Guard deployment. The governors of New York and Maryland directed state agencies to ease driver requirements to get more vehicles on the road.
