KAHULUI - The Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE) advises parents and guardians of students at Lahainaluna High and Baldwin High who depend on school bus routes exclusively serving grades 9 to 12 to find alternate rides. This will also apply to students of Iao Intermediate using school bus routes exclusively serving grades 6 to 8. HIDOE has learned that its current bus vendor for those locations remains 15 Commercial Driver License (CDL) drivers short.
“We have explored all options and have been unable to assist in securing licensed drivers for these critical routes,”said Assistant Superintendent Dann Carlson. “We apologize for this temporary inconvenience and routes will be restored as new bus drivers are hired.”
In discussions with Mayor Alan Arakawa, the county bus system does not have the capacity to take on an increased number of passengers.
“We spoke and brainstormed with Mayor Arakawa on solutions in hopes of finding a solution to prevent this situation, however, there are too many legal obligations for outside parties to engage. It’s disappointing, but this is the reality,”stated Carlson.
Bus routes at Lahainaluna High and Baldwin High serving K to 12 grade levels will continue to operate on normal schedules beginning on the first day of school next Tuesday, August 8, 2017. However, bus routes at these schools exclusively serving grades 9 to 12 will be temporarily suspended and those students will need to find alternate modes of travel to get to and from school. Bus routes at Iao Intermediate serving K to 8 grade levels will continue to operate as normal, but routes exclusively serving grades 6 to 8 will be suspended.
Maui High School bus routes will be temporarily consolidated. Scheduled pick-up and arrival times will be modified from previous years. The updated bus schedule is available here:
During this time, school administrators will make adjustments to ensure that all students affected by the transportation delays have adequate time for school breakfast and are not penalized for tardiness.
For questions or concerns, please call the Get On Board Hotline at 808-586-0161 on Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.