4,200 Eastern Townships students unsure when bus is coming after employee falls sick

A school board in the Eastern Townships is scrambling after the employee in charge of transportation fell ill, leaving 4,200 students unsure when their buses are coming.

When the employee responsible for scheduling and organizing bus routes was absent due to illness, no one else at the Hauts-Cantons school board knew how to use the software that organizes bus routes.

As a result, students don't know when, exactly, the bus is coming Friday morning, the first day of school.

"Any time of the year, he can be sick and there's no problem, said Martial Gaudreau, director general of the school board.

"But at this time of year, when parents are moving, we have new kids signed up, when there are a lot of tasks that have to be accomplished in a limited time frame, it takes someone who is very well-trained."

Parents are being warned that buses may not pass at the exact same time as they did last year.

As a result, elementary students have been asked to be ready for the bus one hour before the start of classes, while high school students need to start waiting for the bus a full hour and a half before classes are set to start.

Students in East Angus, Lac Mégantic and Coaticook are affected by the situation.

The school board called in retired employees and employees from another school board and enlisted the bus company to help figure out the bus routes.

Gaudreau told Radio-Canada it was doing everything possible to mitigate any negative impacts.

"The idea is not to leave anyone on the side of the road,"

The school board will be updating its website with any new developments.