CINCINNATI —

A bus driver shortage is wearing on school districts and parents across the nation. Ohio is even considering whether to have the National Guard step in to drive buses.

Massachusetts brought in the National Guard to drive students to school there.

Gov. Mike DeWine said last week, it's a possibility that could happen here in Ohio as well.

Right now, it's just the beginning of that discussion. But, one thing is for sure, drivers are desperately needed.

“She’s missed three days due to lack of transportation," Tanya Johnson said.

Her daughter has missed school because of a lack of bus service.

Johnson's 13-year-old daughter has attended St. Francis de Sales School since third grade. This is the first year she hasn't had transportation, making it a challenge for working parents.

“It’s like paying people out of pocket every day when we have to work to make money and pay the bills," Johnson said.

Johnson has been forced to send her daughter to school using Uber and Lyft.

School officials said Monday, they want answers from Cincinnati Public Schools.

“We have 230 students and over half of them need bus service and we only have two buses. We started out with six buses last year and we’re down to two buses this year," receptionist Greta Brandon said.

Brandon works at St. Francis de Sales. She goes in early to accommodate working parents and stays late to cover afterschool care.

Sycamore Community Schools is feeling the shortage too.

Mechanics, office staff and substitutes who are licensed school bus drivers have stepped up to keep the routes going.

“We’re trying," transportation director Mike Miller said. "We’re doing our very level best to get our kiddos to and from school safely every day. We’re doing our absolute best to accomplish that.”

While the National Guard is one option, nothing is off the table.

“What we’re really focusing on is thinking about this in a different way, thinking about maybe using full-time positions and driving bus just part-time of that full-time position," Doug Palmer said.

Palmer is with the Ohio School Boards Association and said even changing and staggering school start times is an option.

Meanwhile, Palmer said for 18 months now schools have been hard-pressed to get applicants.

He wants people to know there are a number of benefits offered for the part-time position if anyone out there wants to take on the job.

We reached out to Cincinnati Public Schools and are awaiting a response.

CINCINNATI — Two days into the new school year, Cincinnati Public Schools and Cincinnati Metro are planning adjustments to a contentious change in the district's transportation plan.

CPS Board of Education member Mike Moroski said the first day gave glimpses into the parts of the plan that worked well and those that need tweaking.

"There were some pretty, I think, traumatic experiences for some families," he said. "I think there were some great experiences for some families."

For the last few weeks of summer, the school district and the transit authority had gone back and forth on what sort of bus service high school students could expect this fall. Previously, Metro provided specific routes with more direct access to the district's high school buildings for students to ride. A bus driver shortage exacerbated by the pandemic, though, caused Metro to have to cancel those routes.

Elementary school students in the district are transported by yellow buses.

The announcement triggered backlash from parents and the teachers union, and school and transit officials scrambled last week to put together a compromise plan that included adding back some routes, extra stops, and utilizing adult staff to help coordinate and chaperone students at key bus stops and locations.

"It could have been better; it wasn't totally catastrophic," Moroski said, applauding Metro bus drivers for their help in helping manage the changes.

"I had a lot of stories from out there in the field of Metro bus operators making it work for our kids, so I'm very grateful for that," he said.

Metro is owned and operated by the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority. Vice president for external affairs Brandy Jones said they anticipated some areas where adjustments would be necessary.

"Certainly there may be some hiccups on the way that we need to adjust, and I ask for parents' patience as we work through those things to make them better for the student families," she told WCPO. She said Metro only heard of a few minor issues on Wednesday, when classes resumed, and that Metro will continue to deploy staff at key stops to continue facilitating the transition.

Among the adjustments CPS will make immediately include training more district staff as crossing guards, asking the city for assistance in traffic control around school campuses before and after classes, and asking Metro to add new routes near Western Hills University High School and Walnut Hills High School.