By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Wanted: Adults with good driving records willing to work odd hours and cart around 60 kids at a time. Applicants with nerves of steel and eyes in the back of their heads would be preferred.
Like other school districts around the region, Bowling Green is looking for bus drivers, specifically substitute bus drivers. Carlton Schooley, director of the district’s transportation department, made a pitch for more drivers during Tuesday’s board of education meeting.
He eased into his presentation with the sing-song version of “The Wheels on the Bus.” But Schooley pointed out that unlike the bus in the children’s song, his buses go beyond just the town.
“They also go around the district,” which stretches miles out on rural roads.
The bus drivers are more than just chauffeurs for students, Schooley explained. “School bus drivers are the first people in the morning that students see” and the last school officials to return them home at the end of the day.
His presentation, called “So you want to be a bus driver,” explained the process to become a driver. The district currently has 20 regular drivers, and eight substitutes. But that is just not enough.
“We’re always looking for drivers,” BG Superintendent Francis Scruci said.
But the job does have some downsides. Drivers work split shifts, transporting students a couple hours in the morning and a couple hours in the afternoon. And the passengers aren’t always the best behaved.
“It really is a trying job,” Schooley said, explaining the drivers must keep their attention on the road, while maintaining order on the bus. “You have 60 kids behind you and no eyes in the back of your head.”
Anyone interested in the job may submit an electronic application. Driving histories and background checks will be investigated. Then prospective drivers take a 15-hour class which covers topics from driving safety, to handling blood-borne pathogens, to rending First Aid. Applicants learn how to best handle behavioral issues.
“You need to know what you’re going to do before it occurs,” Schooley said.
Prospective drivers learn to inspect parts of the bus, like tires, lights and electrical circuits. They learn maneuvers for pulling onto highways, crossing railroad tracks, unloading students, and pulling over for emergencies.
Applicants then take four written tests, including questions on mountain driving, “though that’s not critical here,” Schooley said.
The final training includes riding with a seasoned driver, then taking over the wheel themselves.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, board member Ed Whipple praised Scruci for his “judicious” decisions on school delays and cancellations due to weather conditions.
Scruci said he and Schooley head out early in the morning to check out roads.
“It’s the most thankless decision,” Scruci said. “We have an obligation to educate our kids and we can’t do it if they aren’t in school.”
But they have to get there safely, and that’s where the bus driver behind the wheel comes in.
