As many schools return to in-person classes even as coronavirus cases are mounting nationwide, school bus drivers, cafeteria workers and janitors are left in an impossible bind: worried about being exposed to COVID-19 but also terrified theyll lose their jobs if schools stay shut.

Were back at work. We dont get the choice of virtual or brick-and-mortar. Were behind the wheel, five days a week, said Rhonda Miller, 54, a school bus driver in Floridas Palm Beach County.

How can you social distance on a bus? Its impossible, Miller said.

States and school districts have had a piecemeal response to the pandemic, with some deciding to return fully in person, others continuing classes virtually and still others doing a combination of both. Many schools, including in New York , Florida and Texas , have opened up only to have to shut again as virus cases have cropped up among students and staff.

The drivers who bring kids to school, the cafeteria workers who feed them and the janitors who clean up after them are all considered essential workers and they cant do their jobs from home. Theyre also disproportionately Black and brown .

With more than 7.9 million confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. and over 217,000 dead so far, those getting sick and dying have been disproportionately Black and brown . And the number of new daily cases has increased nearly 50% in the last month alone precisely the period during which schools shifted to in-person learning.

Yet for many school support staff, scarier even than the chance of getting the virus is the thought of losing their jobs.

This is my lifeline, said 50-year-old Jamal Johnson, who is Black and a cleaner at a high school in Long Island City, New York. If this shuts down with this second spike coming, Im not sure my job is guaranteed. I have to decide if I risk my health to survive. Its a tough choice.