The Durham Public Schools (DPS) board’s recent decision to eliminate bus service within one mile of 21 elementary schools is more than just a logistical change—it’s a glaring symptom of a much deeper, more systemic problem. Rather than addressing the root cause of the bus driver shortage, the district is opting for the path of least resistance: shifting the burden onto the backs of parents, particularly those who are already stretched thin by work, life, and the chaos of our current education system. In doing so, the board has proven that it’s more concerned with quick fixes than with genuinely solving the crisis at hand.
The plan, which will affect 750–800 students, is framed as an effort to address the ongoing bus driver shortage that has been plaguing the district since August. And while the driver shortage is indeed a serious issue, this response fails to acknowledge the full scope of the problem. Instead of actively engaging with bus drivers, teachers, and parents to brainstorm real solutions, the board has chosen to take a top-down approach, cutting services and creating new, arbitrary “family responsibility zones.”
Let’s be clear: the majority of those impacted by this decision will be the families who can least afford the added burden. Working parents, single parents, and families with multiple children will now be expected to shoulder the responsibility of getting their kids to school, a task that will cost them time, money, and emotional energy. And that’s if they even have the means to make it happen.
For some, this might mean losing hours at work, paying for gas, or navigating unsafe streets with their children in tow. For others, it could lead to even worse outcomes: children missing school, falling behind, and further widening the education gap between the haves and the have-nots. The decision to remove bus service from these neighborhoods is a direct assault on working-class families in Durham, many of whom already feel left behind by a system that doesn’t seem to value their struggles.
In response to concerns about the express bus stops for magnet school students, the board offers no clear plan for the logistical chaos that will likely ensue. Asking parents to drop their kids off at a nearby school—only for them to be picked up by another bus to their actual school—is a logistical nightmare in the making. Moreover, it’s a slap in the face to parents who signed their children up for magnet programs under the presumption that transportation would be provided. These families did everything right—followed the rules, applied on time, and chose programs they believed would offer their children a better future. And now, the district is pulling the rug out from under them, making it harder for working parents to keep up with a system that’s already stacked against them.
What’s most troubling is that this decision has been made without meaningful input from the people who are most affected by it: the bus drivers and the parents. Bus drivers like Larry Dixon and Retha Daniel-Ruth, who have spent years on the front lines of Durham’s transportation system, urged the board to involve them in the conversation before making these sweeping changes. Instead of listening, the board voted to press forward with a plan that does little to address the real issues at the root of the bus driver shortage. The district has spent far too much time dancing around the issue of worker retention and pay, when those are the real levers that need to be pulled to solve the crisis.
Instead of continuing to implement half-baked policies, it’s time for the district to have an honest conversation about the systemic issues plaguing public education in Durham. We need better pay and working conditions for bus drivers. We need more transparency and input from the families who rely on these services. And most importantly, we need a district that is willing to put the well-being of its students and their families above bureaucratic convenience.
The board’s decision may offer temporary relief for an overstretched system, but it does so at the expense of the very people it is supposed to serve. It’s a shortsighted, misguided move that will only exacerbate the inequality that already exists in our public schools. If Durham truly wants to be a city that prides itself on equity, justice, and opportunity for all, it needs to start listening to its workers and its families—before it’s too late.
