Alaska School Bus Strike: Week 8, Parents Struggle

0:00It's April 14. This is Anchorage News Today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story. Families in Alaska's Matanuska's Isitna Burrill School District are hitting their eighth week without school bus service. The strike kicked off on March 2nd when Valley Bus Drivers walked out against Durham School Services, the contractor handling district buses. Unions call it an unfair labor practice, mainly over stall contract talks. Parks have dragged on with no real progress, leaving kids and parents in a tough spot. Durham says there's set to meet Teamsters Local 959 this Tuesday to keep bargaining. Both sides won drivers back before the school year wraps up. Parents are feeling the heat, hard. One mom with three middle schoolers says her kids only make it to class once every two weeks, thanks to car troubles and work needs. Grades are slipping with Fs and D's popping up, and schools are sending home packets and online work as a patch. Another parent just finished breast cancer treatment and misjuggling, Dr. Visits with

1:00drop-offs, costing her fifth-grader five school days. A stay-at-home mom from Whasilla now leaves 30 minutes early, burns extra gas on four daily trips, but neighbors are carpooling to ease the chaos. This strikes flipping routines upside down across the valley, building some community bonds through shared rides while stressing everyone out. With meetings lined up, fingers crossed for a deal soon so buses roll again and kids stay on track.