- An Iowa school district cancelled classes because it couldn't find enough bus drivers.
- A large number of drivers called in sick with COVID-19 related conditions, the school district said.
- It's one of the latest to struggle with a nationwide bus driver shortage that's lasted months.
A school district in Iowa canceled classes on Monday after being unable to find enough school bus drivers.
"A large number of bus drivers called in sick this morning with COVID-19 related issues," said a statement from the Davenport Community Schools District. "Too large a number to adjust routes at short notice."
The lack of bus drivers would have meant delays in pickups and students waiting outside "in extreme cold weather" for buses, the announcement read.
The district, which operates 30 facilities from the pre-school to high-school level, has 15,234 students in enrollment, 37.6% of whom are economically disadvantaged.
The district said classes would resume on Tuesday and that all bus routes would be covered again.
The company running the school bus service, Durham School Services, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Schools across the US have been struggling to hire and retain bus drivers as the nation sees a widespread combination of strikes, walkouts, and sick-outs in the industry. The shortage has pushed authorities and schools to take drastic action in some areas.
In September, a school in Boston resorted to hiring a party bus with a stripper pole to transport high school students on a field trip. In the same month, the governor of Massachusetts activated the National Guard to start ferrying kids to and from school.
New York tried to persuade 550,000 commercial drivers' license holders to become bus drivers, while Chicago schools gave out $1,000 stipends for families to use on private transportation to get their kids to school.
Other school districts, like the Milford School District in Delaware, have tried working around the shortage by encouraging remote learning among students.