By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
After last week’s plea for bus drivers by Bowling Green City Schools, 14 people contacted the district to express interest in transporting students to and from school.
But people have to go through training and background checks before they get behind the wheel of a school bus – so the school district is short on drivers again this week for some of the 1,700 students who rely on bus transportation.
“Remember that it is a process from being interested to getting certified, but if everything goes well by the end of the month things should be in better shape. We will still continue to search for additional drivers,” Superintendent Francis Scruci said Monday evening in an email to parents.
“With that being said, this week we still face a shortage of drivers,” Scruci wrote.
So this week, the following routes will be affected:
- Bus #22, Tuesday morning and afternoon. Routes that will be delayed will be 8, 18 and 21.
- Bus #3, Tuesday Routes that will be delayed are 2 and 17.
- Bus #22, Wednesday Routes that will be delayed will be 8, 18 and 21.
- Bus #22, ThursdayRoutes that will be delayed will be 8, 18 and 21.
Any time a driver can’t be found for one route, it affects other routes that have to compensate for the missing driver. That means some students are getting to school and returning home late.
The district has 21 full-time drivers and 11 substitutes. The problem is that 23 full-time drivers are needed, and seven of the subs have other jobs.
“They are substitutes for a reason, because they don’t want to work full-time,” Toby Snow, interim co-director of the school transportation department, said last week.
The shortage isn’t just affecting regular bus transportation to and from school, but also the shuttling of athletic teams to competitions. The district is also responsible for transporting students to and from non-public schools and Penta Career Center.
Bowling Green isn’t alone with its driver shortage.
“We’re experiencing the same issues that a lot of schools are having,” Scruci said last week. “There are not a lot of people who want to do it.”
The job pays $14.62 to $16.08 an hour, depending on the person’s experience. The driver must go through background checks with BCII and FBI, and have to get a commercial driver’s license.
“It’s going to cost you before you ever get paid,” Snow said.
New drivers must have a minimum of 20 hours of on-board instruction, plus attend a four-day class.
“There’s a lot to it,” Scruci said.
But people should not be intimidated by the size of the buses, Snow said.
“If you can drive a full-size pickup truck, you can drive a bus,” Snow said. “It’s not as complicated as it looks.”
