Drivers call in sick after district outsources bus service
Parents and transportation officials scrambled Tuesday to get students to and from schools in Community Unit District 300 in Carpentersville, Ill., after 33 bus drivers called in sick. The drivers apparently were protesting a decision to outsource busing. The school board members voted Monday to disband the district's bus operations and enter into a 3-year contract with Durham Transportation Services. Bus driver union officials say the move effectively fires nearly 200 employees. The absences forced school officials to cancel bus routes serving two elementary schools and ask parents to drive their children to classes. Buses on most of the other routes ran 15 to 40 minutes late in the morning. Buses were running as much as 45 minutes late in the afternoon