Gwinnett Schools drivers prepare buses, routes for students to return this week

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Gwinnett County school bus drivers hit the roads Tuesday learning the more 45,000 bus stops in the county as in-person classes begin on Aug. 26.

Channel 2′s Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Tony Thomas spoke with bus drivers about the precautions they are taking because of COVID-19.

Before driver Wayne Lawson can head out on his routes this year, he has extra work to do by spraying and wiping down everything with a disinfectant.

“We will spray the back of the seats. along the top and the top,” Lawson said. “It only adds about 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the afternoon,” Lawson said.

Next door, driver Ms. Neboh has even more work to do on her special needs bus with more straps and buckles to clean.

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This task is especially daunting for Gwinnett County. It transports more than 133,000 students twice a day during the normal school year. The county is the third largest transporter of students in the country.

Superintendent Alvin Wilbanks concedes that buses will be one of the tougher parts of keeping kids apart during the pandemic.

“We will probably try to smooth some of the routes that are extremely crowded,” Wilbanks said. “There is no way we can social distance on the bus.”

The district told Thomas it will have a mask mandate for kids on school buses. Helping drivers out is only a few students will ride the bus at the beginning.

Gwinnett County Schools will begin phase-in approach for students who chose in-person on Aug. 26. Each week, more grades and riders will be added.

Bus drivers will be out training on the roads each day until then.

“It’s just going to be a learning process as we go and as more and more students come on board we should be able to narrow down how we can practice social distancing as much as possible,” Lawson said.

Teachers, parents stress patience as APS and other districts return to learning next week The district goes back to school virtually on Monday, along with other school districts across the metro.

Cox Media Group