The shortage of personnel continues to cause turmoil in the school network. In Quebec, students are still deprived of yellow buses, while in Lac-Saint-Jean, a school service center will have to halve the number of 4-year-old kindergarten classes next fall.
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Monday, less than 24 hours from the return to class, Stéphane Racine learned that his son will not be able to go to school by bus the next day as usual.
The school bus service is suspended “for an indefinite period” due to a shortage of drivers, indicates the Center de services scolaire des Premières-Seigneuries by email.
The puzzle is not easy to solve for this family from Beauport, since the teenager attends the secondary school of Mont-Sainte-Anne, in Beaupré, where he is registered in a Sport-studies program. The round trip takes about an hour and a half, twice a day, says Racine.
No plan B
“We are offered no plan B, no other solution,” he laments. We are still talking about transporting children to go to school, not that a clerk is missing in a convenience store. It just doesn’t make sense. »
It has not been possible to obtain an answer from the school service center on this subject at the time of this writing.
Breakdowns in school transportation were frequent during the fall in Quebec City. Since September, around 500 students have been deprived of yellow buses due to a lack of drivers.
Less 4-year-old kindergartens
In Lac-Saint-Jean, the staff shortage is also forcing the Center de services scolaire du Pays-des-Bleuets to make difficult decisions since the situation will only get worse in the coming years with early retirements, explained the direction in a video sent to parents earlier this week.
The number of 4-year-old kindergarten classes will be halved next year, which will make it possible to reassign specialized teachers and educators to other groups, said director general Patrice Boivin.
It would be the first service center to announce a reduction in 4-year-old kindergarten groups due to the shortage.
For his part, Prime Minister François Legault rather reiterated his intention this fall to continue opening new classes as planned.
The Pays-des-Bleuets School Service Center has also told parents that remedial education services will be reduced and that transfers of students to other schools will be more frequent, due to staff shortages.
About 200 positions are currently vacant in this service centre.