{"id":1013944,"date":"2026-08-21T01:25:28","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T01:25:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1013944\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T01:25:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T01:25:28","slug":"nisd-bus-driver-shortage-leaves-northwest-san-antonio-families-scrambling-at-the-start-of-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1013944\/","title":{"rendered":"NISD bus driver shortage leaves northwest San Antonio families scrambling at the start of school"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO<\/strong> \u2013 The new school year is barely two weeks old for Northside Independent School District and some parents said they are already struggling to get their kids to class on time.<\/p>\n

The district is facing a bus driver shortage that has left more than 70 transportation positions unfilled, according to Tesilia Soliz, NISD\u2019s director of transportation. <\/p>\n

The shortage is forcing drivers to run double routes \u2014 picking up one group of students, dropping them off and returning for a second load \u2014 making buses take more time across the district.<\/p>\n

Marcie Miller is a mother who lives on San Antonio\u2019s Northwest Side with two children that attend Northside ISD. She said her middle schooler\u2019s bus skipped their street, arrived more than 30 minutes late and sometimes failed to show up at all since the first day of school.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first day of school, he did not come at all on our street,\u201d Miller said. \u201cMy son was outside, my son calls me. I leave work to go get him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller said driving her son to school is not always a reliable backup option.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t always have the gas money to do that, and my son knows that some of us have to rely on that bus,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Miller said she called the district\u2019s transportation department multiple times to report the issues, but says staff have not consistently followed up with her or other parents on her street.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish that they would return calls if they say that they\u2019re going to call us back,\u201d Miller said. \u201cIf they don\u2019t, then we\u2019re stuck in the middle, still dealing with it every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

To address the shortage, Northside ISD held an Auxiliary Job Fair Thursday morning at its transportation stations across the district. <\/p>\n

NISD\u2019s director of transportation said the district is looking to fill more than 30 CDL driver positions, more than 20 non-CDL driver positions and more than 20 bus monitor roles.<\/p>\n

No CDL is required to apply<\/a>. Soliz said the district handles all training in-house, including on-site DPS testing and a state school bus certification course. New hires could be behind the wheel within four to six weeks of being hired.<\/p>\n

As for the two-mile eligibility rule \u2014 which determines whether a student qualifies for bus service \u2014 Soliz said that is not a Northside ISD policy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis policy has been set by the state of Texas and it\u2019s been in practice for years and years, way before I came on board,\u201d Soliz said. \u201cIt\u2019s just something that we have always enforced and it\u2019s nothing new.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soliz said the district is aware that the shortage is affecting families and is committed to improving service.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just want parents and the community members to know that we\u2019re doing the best that we can with the resources that we currently have,\u201d Soliz said.<\/p>\n

Northside ISD said anyone interested in a transportation position can walk into any of its five transportation stations at any time for an on-site interview with management.<\/p>\n

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