Bus drivers strike in North Carolina’s largest school system

RALEIGH, NC (AP) — Bus drivers for North Carolina’s largest school system called in sick on Friday to protest working conditions, prompting administrators to urge parents to arrange their own transportation and warn of similar problems next week.

Officials with the Wake County Public School System said 400 of the 600 buses operated by the system were running, news outlets reported. Bus drivers have said concerns about being overworked and underpaid haven’t been addressed.

Many parents said their children walked to school, or they were driven to school when their buses didn’t show up.

The Wake County system has 160,000 students, and up to half of them ride the bus in a normal year.

Wake County Superintendent Cathy Moore and school board chairman Keith Sutton sent a message to staff members.

“The pay and salary structure for the work we do is not adequate,” the message said. “Our bus drivers shone a harsh light on this reality.”

Moore and Sutton also said many drivers have to run as many as six routes a day without receiving extra compensation. They said most school staffers are in the same situation.

The system also told parents that bus service for Monday is uncertain and asked families to plan for that possibility.