What Manatee County parents need to know about school bus changes this year

BRADENTON, Fla. — As the first day of school approaches, the Manatee County School District is preparing for an expanded bus system while navigating a driver shortage.

Early Mornings and Long Days

For some students in Manatee County, the school day starts well before dawn.

"Our first pickup is 4:43 in the morning, and it's far out east," said Jamie Warrington, director of transportation for the Manatee County School District.

Warrington, a former bus driver himself, knows firsthand the demands of the job — early start times and sometimes late days are part of the routine.

New Routes, New Challenges

This year brings additional challenges as the district expands to accommodate new schools.

"We're currently looking at about 110 routes for this upcoming year, whereas we had 100 last year," Warrington said.

To fill all those new routes, the district is still actively hiring drivers.

"We're going to open the school year at this point about 12 to 13 drivers short, where we'll have routes that will not have drivers assigned to them," Warrington said.

What This Means for Students

Parents shouldn't panic — the district says every route will still be covered. However, some buses will be running combined routes until those driver positions are filled.

This could mean:

• Longer bus rides for some students
• Slightly different pickup times
• Route adjustments as drivers are hired

Tracking Your Student's Bus

The good news? The district has tools to help parents stay informed.

The Manatee County School District has been using the "Where's The Bus" app for years, allowing parents to track their child's bus in real-time to and from their stop.

New Features Coming Soon

This year, the app is getting upgraded with new real-time features.

"There's going to be a mechanism for parents right through the app to notify us if their student is not going to be going to school that day," Warrington said. "That in turn will translate to the tablet that's installed on the school bus, so that bus driver would also get that message that that particular student would not be going."

Those new features could be available as early as this fall.

Stay Informed

In the meantime, Warrington encourages parents to stay proactive about checking their student's transportation information.

"We encourage parents to be continuously checking their Focus account, their Focus portal, on the transportation tab, and we encourage them to check that often, including up to a day or two before school starts for any last-minute changes," he said.

The "Where's The Bus" app is available for download for Manatee County School District families. For more information about bus routes or driver positions, visit the district's transportation website.