HARRIS COUNTY, Ga. (WRBL)— The first day of school is just weeks away for Harris County students. Right now, the school district is short drivers for the upcoming school year which could impact routes.
Despite 14 drivers training this week and three more set to start next week, there are still vacancies to fill behind the wheel.
“Right now, we need about eight more drivers. We were starting off where we needed about 20 drivers," Assistant Superintendent Dr. Justin Finney tells WRBL.
The bus driver shortage in Harris County first started during the COVID pandemic.
"We had a lot of drivers retire at that time, and we've just never gotten back up to the level that we had before," Dr. Finney said. “One of the one of the greatest challenges we've had is having enough drivers to do athletic trips after hours or field trips. To do that, we've had to pull drivers off routes.”
To combat this shortage the district has ramped up their recruiting efforts by:
- raising the starting pay to $21 an hour
- covering training costs for drivers
- paying drivers during training
- offering full-time benefits even though drivers clock five to six hours a day
Drivers also fall under the state retirement system after 10 years.
With the school year rapidly approaching, routes may be impacted if drivers do not apply.
“Sometimes we have to double up routes. Sometimes we have to put more kids on a bus. We have to lengthen the routes and we have to sometimes do tier two routes, which is we put off one route. We run the route. We come back and pick up another route and run that route," Dr. Finney explained. "That puts a strain on the drivers and the staff, because not only are we short drivers, but the way we make up those drivers is some of our transportation staff who are certified bus drivers have to leave their offices and drive the busses."
The training process requires interested drivers to get their permit, undergo a background test, and train for 30-40 days.
"It's a very rigorous training process, and it's a difficult process to get through. Some people don't get their permit, so those people don't become bus drivers. Then some don't pass the background check and so, they're taken out of the pool. Then some fall along the way with the training. And then there's the final third-party evaluation test, the driving test, and some don't pass that," Dr. Finney said. "And there's a required amount of hours that you have to drive with students and without students before they can go take the final test."
Dr. Finney describes who they are looking to hire.
“Someone who likes children, first and foremost, somebody that can be flexible. Somebody that has good emotional stability. Somebody that wants to serve, and just somebody that has attention to detail and safety minded.”
Officials say this position is great for retirees, stay at home moms, anyone that wants to have the same schedule as their children, or small business owners with flexibility in their day-to-day schedule.
To apply for a bus driver position, click here.
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