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Caddo Parish superintendent reports 52% drop in bus-driver absenteeism, highlights attendance gains
Summary
Superintendent Burton told the Caddo Parish School Board that incentives and added bus-driver positions led to a 52% decrease in average daily driver absenteeism and highlighted improved attendance at several pilot schools; she said the district operates about 270 routes.
Superintendent Burton presented district transportation and attendance data to the Caddo Parish School Board on Oct. 21, saying efforts to incentivize bus-driver attendance and add driver positions had led to a “52%” drop in average daily driver absenteeism.
"We made it a big deal to emphasize attendance," Burton said, describing meals for drivers and outreach the district used to improve reliability. She said two recent capital project bids — the wing at Donnie Beckham and a bathroom renovation — came in significantly under budget.
Burton walked board members through attendance improvements at several schools comparing September 2024 to September 2025. She said Adkins rose from about 88% to nearly 94%, and cited declines in truancy at several sites, noting Broadmoor’s truancy count fell from 32 to 15 and Turner’s from 53 to 26. When asked by a board member how many daily routes the district runs, Burton said the district operates roughly 270 routes and agreed to provide per-district breakdowns of routes and attendance figures.
Why it matters: Improved bus-driver attendance and targeted attendance efforts can reduce missed instructional time and operational disruption for students across the district. Board members asked for per-district data and suggested the district include the number of routes in published materials to give context to the gains.
The superintendent did not propose new policy changes at the meeting; members praised staff and asked for follow-up data.
