Since 1997, Carol Barnhart has driven buses for the Calallen School District. She tells me, she fell in love with profession almost instantly and hasn’t looked back.
“There’s nothing more exciting than seeing a little kid get all excited when their bus driver is coming down the road," Barnhart said. “We are the ones who make sure that they get to from school safety and ultimately we set the tone for their day.”
As time rolled on, Carol became the district’s director of transportation.
Over the years, she says, she has noticed a nationwide shortage of school bus drivers.
“When I started driving a school bus, I saw a bus on the side of the road with a sign that says now hiring, she said. "That was almost 30 years ago and you’re going to see those buses with signs as you drive up and down the highway.”
Hop-Skip-Drive, a technology company focusing on complex transportation challenges for school nationwide, reports more than 91-percent of school districts across the country, have a shortage of drivers.
So, what are some reasons for the shortages?
“Obviously, the number one challenge that all districts have is pay," she said.
Taking a look around the coastal bend, KRIS 6 News Reporter Tyrese Boone discovered the pay for bus drivers in Gregory-Portalnd is $26 an hour with incentives.
The pay in Flour Bluff is about $21 dollars.
School bus drivers in Calallen start with just $19 an hour.
The driver shortage, Superintendent Emily Lorenz says, impacts more than just picking up and dropping off students for school.
“For our extracurricular routes, we have to ask some of our coaches to step up and pull them out to make sure that we kids where they need to be," Lorenz said.
So, what is the superintendent doing help end the shortage?
Lorenz says she’s adding extra benefits for retirement c-d-l training, year round pay and medical.
"I think it’s making sure that we’re competitively on par with pay and benefits and that we provide a system and a culture that they want to show up to work every day," Lorenz said.
In addition, the best thing is what she calls an added bonus....which is the positive impact on the youth here.
“it can be a good steady job and so it depends on the community and this community is really supportive of their bus drivers," Barhart said.
To be eligible for the job, you must be 18 years old, a current driver's license and past a background check.
To apply, visit Calallen .org for more information.
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