DAVIE, FLA. (WSVN) – As students across South Florida head back to school in the coming days, bus drivers across Broward County Public Schools say their routes are ready and that their top priority is keeping children safe.<\/p>\n
One of those bus drivers, Elaudys Garcia, has been driving the bus for over two decades. She said it\u2019s not only the children who get first-day butterflies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first day, my concerns are gonna be the traffic and the kids knowing you the first days,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
For the mother of two, these last few days before school begins mean preparing her routes and getting ready for the morning chaos.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a good route, I have good kids, so I can\u2019t complain,\u201d said Garcia. \u201cWhat I do every year, I try to let them know about the rules of the bus, so they know what is right and what is wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
With 650 routes to cover across Broward County, and a driver shortage of 60 to 100 drivers, including those no longer eligible due to the end of Temporary Protected Status<\/a>, the start of the school year may be more challenging for students.<\/p>\n \u201cBasically, when you have fewer drivers,\u00a0you have fewer routes and fewer buses,\u00a0 so that means more stops in the morning or the afternoon,\u00a0so the kids are on the bus a little longer than last year or the year before,\u201d said Dr. Simone Clowers, BCPS\u2019 executive director for student transportation and fleet services.<\/p>\n Officials had to rework some of the routes after the closure of some schools and the consolidation of others<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe beauty of it, though, is our drivers are used to it, our staff is used to it. We adapt, we change. If you work for the district, you already know how to pivot on a dime,\u201d said Clowers. \u201cThey\u2019re parents, teachers, support aides for the students so that it could make or break a child\u2019s day.\u201d<\/p>\n