Perkiomen Valley Schools Shut Down Bus Service Due To COVID-19

PERKIOMEN VALLEY, PA — Perkiomen Valley is among two school districts in Montgomery County that have canceled all bus service due to a rash of coronavirus cases among drivers.

The suspension will continue through Feb. 8, school officials said.

A similar closure has impacted the Hatboro-Horsham School District's transportation department, as they have also shut down busing for the rest of this week.

In a statement, the Perkiomen Valley School District said they were currently considering "the logistics of bringing students on site without transportation."

In the meantime, the elementary students are going fully virtual, while high school students can attend in-person classes if they have an alternate means of transportation. Otherwise, they're going fully virtual until next week.

Hatboro-Horsham said that more than 20 staff members are quarantined, representing roughly 25 percent of their transit staff. Contact tracing indicates that transmission of the virus occurred while at work, the district said.

"Closing the bus garage and ceasing operations for the remainder of the week will allow time to thoroughly clean all facilities and vehicles, while assessing the extent of transmission," Superintendent Scott Eveslage wrote in a letter to the school community.

Hatboro-Horsham is remaining open, however, for students who are able to find an alternate method transportation.

6ABC reports that one of Perkiomen Valley's transportation employees died from COVID-19.

The outbreaks come at a challenging time, as the recent winter storm means that it will be more difficult for a greater number of vehicles to be on the road to drop students off, officials note.

>>Montco Schools Face Teacher, Staffing Shortages Over COVID Cases

Montgomery County officials have been warning for months that even if transmission does not happen in schools, a rise in cases in the community could lead to a "functional" closure of districts due to a shortage of essential workers like bus drivers and substitute teachers.