Wake County welcomes back students as some schools experience bus delays

Hundreds of students poured into Green Magnet Elementary School Tuesday morning.

It was quite lively as teachers and administrators welcomed everyone back.

Parents who spoke with ABC11 said the energy set a tone for the whole year.

"It's so energetic. It gets them enthused to be and be able to learn," Khaleequa Williams, one parent, said.

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The vast majority of Wake County school bus ran on schedule for the first day back to school, even though dozens of bus drivers called out and there are still hundreds of position vacancies.

Approximately 46 schools saw significant delays. Millbrook High School saw buses running more than an hour behind schedule. Many others had delays of around 30 minutes.

Superintendent Dr. Robert Taylor said as far as staffing goes, the district is in better shape than last year, but you'll see hiccups this first week.

The district said it has 578 drivers; this is more than last year, but they would like to hire more in cases of absences. Some drivers may have to do multiple routes .

The district also said substitute drivers are helping to cover routes until each one has an assigned driver.

"Obviously, we've got some new routes, we've got some new drivers," said WCPSS Chief of Facilities and Operations Mark Strickland. "All in all, I think it was a decent day to start with first day of school."

Parents can use the bus app to track their child's ride. The district will also text and email parents directly if a bus is running late.

WCPSS said it is at a 98% fill rate for teachers and 97% for teacher assistants. Both departments are still looking and working to get spots filled.

"We are still working with our recruitment team as well as with building administrators to make sure we are recruiting strategically," Kristi Dye-Rhone, who is with human resources at WCPSS, said.

Meal plan

New this year, 44 schools in the Wake County Public School System are offering free meals to every student who is enrolled. Green Magnet is one of those schools.

If your student is not in one of those schools, you will need to fill out a meal benefits application for free and reduced lunch.

However next school year, thousands of Wake County students will either receive free breakfast or free breakfast and lunch.

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