
Connecticut school bus operators were expecting delays Monday as potentially hundreds of drivers unwilling to be tested or vaccinated for the COVID-19 virus were barred from work when a state vaccine mandate took effect.
Operators estimated Friday that between 300 and 400 drivers across the state would not adhere to the requirement, issued by Gov. Ned Lamont, that people working with school children be vaccinated against the coronavirus or consent to weekly testing before Sept. 27.
Jon Hipsher, a representative of the Connecticut School Transportation Association and chief operating officer of M&J Bus, said the resulting vacancies would exacerbate an existing staffing shortfall in the busing industry.
“There are many districts where parents should expect further delays and potentially buses that aren’t running in certain towns,” Hipsher said Friday. “Give us a little bit more patience than you even have been, if we can ask for that. Just while we see how the first few days of next week are going to go.”
Hipsher said the shortfall varies by town but said there would be pockets of driver shortages in all four corners of Connecticut. Operators who can, will likely further consolidate their routes and others may send drivers on back-to-back runs, he said.
In addition to bus drivers, the new vaccine or testing requirement kicks in Monday for K-12 school staff and teachers, state employees, and staff at state hospitals. At a public hearing Wednesday, several bus drivers told Republican lawmakers they did not want to take the vaccine or be tested, even when their employers offered to pay for the testing.
Bristol bus driver Ashley Madore said she did not want to be vaccinated, telling members of the Conservative Caucus that her choice was a religious matter and it was “against God to put anything into my body.” Madore said around 25 bus drivers in Bristol were opposed.
“We’re hurting. We’re struggling to fill the routes and pick up these kids and bring them to school as it is and it’s only going to get worse if these mandates aren’t lifted and we’re continued to be forced to either vaccinate or test because these drivers, they don’t want this,” Madore said.
Asked Thursday about the driver shortage, the governor defended the requirement for bus drivers as a way to keep drivers and school children safe from the virus. As of Thursday, the Public Health Department estimated that unvaccinated people were at five times higher risk of infection and 13 times higher risk of being hospitalized with COVID-19.
“I’m making sure our kids are able to get to school. I’d just tell the bus drivers: you’re in a tight congregate setting– a bus, surrounded by kids who aren’t vaccinated,” Lamont said. “We’re trying to keep you safe and we’re trying to keep them safe.”
In a letter to Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker, Jean Cronin of the Connecticut School Transportation Association said “The people who do not want to get vaccinated will not be pushed, cajoled, bribed, threatened or convinced in any way to get a COVID shot. They have many reasons, including privacy, principle, safety fears, mistrust of government, violation of rights, politics and not wanting to be pushed. It is a war of wills and government is losing.”
She said if testing is not convenient many will not be able to come to work. There’s also questions about who will pay for the testing.
“Each week the school bus companies risk losing more drivers who find the testing mandate to be burdensome and inconvenient,” Cronin wrote. “As they leave, it will take months to recruit, train and test new drivers, assuming we can find anyone interested in applying.”
She said these are the same drivers who safely transported students all last year.
“Drivers and students were never closer than 3 feet to each other for a few brief seconds while boarding and exiting the bus and there were no incidents of COVID transmission from driver to student in any school district. Why would school bus drivers even need to be included in the COVID vaccine mandate?” Cronin said.
In response to requests from some communities facing similar shortfalls, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker activated National Guard troops and began training them as substitute bus drivers last month.
Lamont and his staff said local leaders in Connecticut had not requested National Guard support, but his administration had expedited the approving new bus drivers and connected Medicaid transport drivers with local districts to help with the transportation of special education students.
Hipshire said the solutions offered by the administration would not address the problem, which was a shortage of people able to drive full and mid-sized yellow school buses. He called on the governor to scrap or delay his order.
“The governor’s the only one who can help us right now. Either get rid of this mandate or significantly extend it so people have more time to process it,” Hipsher said.
Support authentic, locally owned and operated public service journalism!
On Friday, Max Reiss, the governor’s chief spokesman, said there were no plans to delay the date but said the administration was working to provide support and resources where necessary.
Josh Geballe, Lamont’s chief operating officer, said the state had heard anecdotal reports from school districts and was hoping the number of people who chose to leave their bus driver jobs would be relatively low.
“We’re hopeful at the end of the day, as the governor said, drivers will understand the importance of these actions to keep themselves and their own families as well as the children that they serve safe every day and we won’t see a lot of people resign on Monday,” Geballe said.
More COVID-19 Coverage

COVID Transmission Increases in CT
As of Friday afternoon, Connecticut’s test positivity rate was 13.71% and there were 323 residents hospitalized with the virus. On Thursday, the Department of Public Health reported that 158 of Connecticut’s 169 municipalities qualified for the state’s “red alert” distinction for COVID-19, which is triggered when a community records at least 15 daily cases per…
Keep reading
Connecticut At High, Medium Risk of COVID Transmission
Connecticut’s COVID-19 test positivity rating was 10.35% on Thursday and all eight Connecticut counties were in the medium yellow or high orange categories on the CDC’s community spread map. Those community maps, created by the CDC in February, are supposed to tell people to take preventative steps such as masking and testing. Hartford, Middlesex and…
Keep reading
Advocates Make 11th Hour Pitch For Compassionate Release
Hartford, CT — Advocates seeking compassionate release from prison during public health emergencies like COVID rallied at the state Capitol hours before they saw their legislation die without action in either chamber. At the rally on Wednesday, protestors and advocates were demanding action from legislators to pass a bill that addresses COVID in prisons. The…
Keep reading
Legislating During COVID-19
The legislative session ends in three days now, that’s shorter than the amount of time someone should quarantine under CDC standards if they have COVID-19, so how are lawmakers coping? Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, started experiencing symptoms two weeks ago and tested positive for COVID-19. Luckily the session wasn’t scheduled until last Tuesday, but…
Keep reading
Study Shows Union Nursing Homes Had Lower Rates of COVID-19
A recent study published by Health Affairs found that unionized nursing homes had lower resident COVID-19 mortality rates. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, nursing home residents have accounted for roughly one of every six COVID-19 deaths in the United States. Nursing homes have also been very dangerous places for workers, with more than…
Keep reading
Senator Murphy Tests Positive For COVID
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy announced on Twitter that he tested positive for COVID-19. “FYI after feeling mild symptoms overnight, I tested positive for COVID this morning. We’ve done the contact tracing and let people know. It’s a bummer, but I’m sure if I wasn’t fully vaccinated I would be feeling a lot worse. So remember…
Keep reading
COVID Cases Tick Back Up
Most of Gov. Ned Lamont’s executive orders, which were extended to April 15 by the legislature, have now expired just as Connecticut’s test positivity rate for COVID-19 is creeping back up and students at UConn are being asked to mask up again, starting today. According to the Department of Public Health, Connecticut recorded 3,939 positive…
Keep reading
House Green Lights Extension of COVID-19 Laws
The House gave final passage Wednesday to a package of four concepts that had been executive orders and are now law. Previously, the concepts were executive orders to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keep reading
Tong Tests Positive For COVID-19
Attorney General William Tong has tested positive for COVID-19. He is experiencing mild symptoms and quarantining at home.
Keep reading
Lieutenant Gov. Tests Positive For COVID-19, Days After Gov
Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz tested positive for the COVID-19 virus during a routine rapid test over the weekend, her chief staff said in a Monday morning statement. Bysiewicz’s results follow Gov. Ned Lamont, who tested positive late last week. “I have tested positive for COVID-19,” Bysiewicz wrote on Twitter. “Thanks to the vaccine and booster…
Keep reading
Lamont Tests Positive for COVID-19
Gov. Ned Lamont tested positive for COVID-19 Thursday. The results from two rapid tests were positive and he’s awaiting the results of a PCR test, according to this staff. The 68-year-old governor received his second booster exactly a week ago, but has made it through the first two years of the pandemic without contracting the…
Keep reading
New Initiative Allows Same Day COVID Testing And Treatment
Hundreds of pharmacies and federally qualified community health centers across Connecticut are now offering COVID testing and treatments to patients at the same time and place. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, these test-to-treat sites provide antiviral medication to hundreds of locations across the U.S, who then distribute them to patients…
Keep reading
YNHH Top Doc Boosts 2nd Boosters
If you’re eligible to get a second Covid-19 booster shot, go get it. Especially if you’re over 50 and have an underlying medical condition like diabetes that puts you at “high risk” of contracting a severe case of COVID. Read more from the New Haven Independent.
Keep reading
Federal COVID Funds To Limit Tax Relief In An Election Year
Like all states, Connecticut accepted billions of dollars from the federal government for COVID-19 relief, but that money limits how much the state can now consider cutting taxes. It’s bubbling up as a point of contention as lawmakers race to adjust the two-year state budget, which is currently experiencing a record surplus. Connecticut is expected…
Keep reading
Auditors Find West Haven Misspent A Majority of COVID Funds
An independent audit, released by Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration late Friday, found that roughly 80% of West Haven’s spending of COVID relief funds should not have been allowed due to ineligible expenses or insufficient documentation. The audit of how West Haven spent its $1.15 million in federal pandemic funding was conducted by CohnReznick and came…
Keep readingMore Labor News

States With The Largest Unionized Workforces
Where does Connecticut stand in the list of states with the most unionized employees?
Keep reading
Business Leaders Make Push To Veto Captive Audience Bill
Connecticut business leaders are leaning on Gov. Ned Lamont to veto a bill that would restrict what employers can say in the workplace. The bill, which has been a priority of labor unions for years, is being described by business owners as an unconstitutional attempt to restrict workplace communications and an infringement on employer free…
Keep reading
ANALYSIS | It’s A Wrap: The Winners and Losers of the 2022 Session
It was a short legislative session, but the House and the Senate were able to move a lot of business this year, including the passage of a $24-billion budget with around $600 million in tax cuts.
Keep reading
‘Captive Audience’ Bill Headed To Governor’s Desk
Legislation prohibiting Connecticut employers from holding “captive audience” meetings to discourage workers from organizing received final approval in the House late Friday despite Republican arguments it was preempted by federal law. The bill passed in a 88 to 56 vote, generally along party lines. Eight Democrats joined all but one Republican in voting against it.…
Keep reading
Health Care Workers Call for New Hires
After a record number of health care workers are expected to retire this year, health care staff called on Gov. Ned Lamont to commit to filling 1,000 vacant positions by August 1 of this year. A record 1,137 state workers who notified the state that they will retire this year comes at a moment of…
Keep reading
Senate Joins House And Votes To Give Raises, Bonuses To State Employees
The Senate gave final approval by a 22-13 vote on a plan to give unionized state workers a set of raises and bonuses. The plan, negotiated by Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration and a coalition of public sector labor unions, provides three years of 2.5% raises and step increases as well as a total of $3,500…
Keep reading