District 196 bus shortage may force major start-time shifts

Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan schools (District 196) says a months‑long shortage of school bus drivers is forcing structural changes to its transportation system, including proposed start‑time shifts at five schools for next year. The district, which runs Minnesota’s largest district‑operated fleet and buses more than 22,000 students daily on 220 buses, admits it no longer has enough drivers to cover all routes, leading to frequent cancellations and delays since September. Final recommendations going to the school board’s April 13 meeting include an annual opt‑in model for transportation, reduced magnet‑school busing, changes to early‑childhood/center‑based locations, and new bell times at Woodland and East Lake elementary schools, Valley Middle School of STEM, the School of Environmental Studies, and the Area Learning Center. East Lake parents are pushing back hardest, saying a proposed move from a 9:30 a.m. start to nearly two hours earlier would upend work and childcare arrangements and cut into needed sleep for younger children, and they argue they were given little notice before a possible vote. Families are urging the board to delay action and explore alternatives such as carpools, walk‑to‑school lines, and better pay or incentives for drivers before locking in schedule changes that will ripple through south‑metro households.