By SUZANNE DOWNING
March 6, 2026 – The strike by more than 200 Mat-Su school bus workers this week has had an immediate effect on student attendance, with district data showing a measurable increase in absenteeism during the first days of the transportation disruption.
Charts presented during Tuesday’s Mat-Su School Board meeting show absenteeism rising across all grade levels during the first two days of the strike, which began early Monday morning when drivers, monitors, and attendants represented by Teamsters Local 959 walked off the job in a contract dispute with Durham School Services.
Districtwide absenteeism for kindergarten through 12th grade rose to 10.88% on Monday, March 2, the first day of the Teamster strike, then 9.99% on Tuesday, March 3. Attendance improved slightly on the second day, but remained elevated compared with normal levels.
High school students saw the highest absentee rates. On Monday, 12.10% of students in grades 9–12 were absent, followed by 12.02% on Tuesday. Middle school absenteeism reached 11.16% Monday and 9.74% Tuesday, while elementary absenteeism was 9.91% Monday and 8.74% Tuesday.
While attendance improved somewhat on the second day, school officials told board members the disruption is already showing measurable impacts.
Another chart comparing this week’s attendance with the same period last year shows overall absenteeism 2.33% higher during the strike than during the comparable week in 2025. Elementary absenteeism rose to 2.73% higher, middle school to 2.72% higher, and high school to 1.83% higher.
The attendance spike comes after the strike halted bus service for most of the district’s more than 18,000 students.
Durham School Services operates buses across Regions 1 through 5 of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, which includes the majority of the system’s schools. Without drivers, daily transportation for thousands of students was abruptly canceled, forcing families to scramble for alternative transportation.
Some schools remain unaffected because they are served by other contractors or operate in more remote areas, including Glacier View School, Su-Valley Jr./Sr. High School, and certain schools in Willow, Trapper Creek, and Talkeetna.
The strike stems from a contract dispute between Durham and Teamsters Local 959. Negotiations have been underway since June 2025, and the previous contract expired Feb. 4.
Key issues reportedly include wages, training requirements, health policies, and other contract terms. Workers rejected what Durham described as its final offer earlier this year. Union leaders say negotiations stalled in February, prompting the union to issue a 10-day strike notice before launching the walkout.
Durham has urged the union to return to the bargaining table and has pointed to scheduled mediation dates later in March.
One thought on “Student absenteeism in Mat-Su during first two days of school bus driver strike”
Even though for Alaska education standards the students wouldn’t be missing out on much. The absenteeism does demonstrate how little care and little creativity the teachers of students they see in homeroom classes can’t make it to school. If I were in a teacher’s place and three of my homeroom students caught a bus, I’d be picking them up for school and returning them to home. If a a homeroom teacher knew he only had four students dependent on the school bus, he could drive them into school. If he had five to 10 students coming in on the bus he could had rented a 15 seater van.
Just like Nurses teachers and school staff only care about their paychecks just like the school bus drivers who make more than 17 dollars an hour care more about themselves than their work and providing service.