St. Louis' school district is offering to pay some families to drive their kids to school as part of an effort to offset a shortage of bus drivers. “We are excited to announce a new set of programs aimed at addressing the current challenges in transportation services,” Toyin Akinola, St. Louis Public Schools' director of transportation, wrote in a Monday letter to parents, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Under the plan, families who have experienced “chronic bus absenteeism” this school year will receive gas cards for the next two weeks.