Keeping Drivers in Their Seats

Why it’s a problem, and what being done to fix it?

Stephane Babcock | Associate Editor

With the scrutiny that has recently been brought upon school bus drivers as a whole because of the actions of a few, an industry-wide issue is become increasingly problematic. With low wages in some areas, lack of benefits in others and new regulations concerning background checks, school districts are having more difficulty finding and retaining good drivers.

The Problems
After Ohio gained national attention recently for a bus driver arrested for the possession of a cocaine-filled syringe during his daily route, the state legislature took action and included a section within the transportation budget that would extend the driver record time period for background checks to seven years and would bar anyone from driving a bus for seven years after a DUI incident or committing any felony while behind the wheel.

“The new seven-year check should have minimal effect on current company procedures,” said Terry Thomas, president of Community Bus Services, Inc, which is based in Youngstown, Ohio. “It may become more difficult (to find drivers), as districts and competitors will have to increase their standards, shrinking the applicant pool for everyone.”

Drivers in some states are more worried about what could happen, instead of what may have occurred in the past. In Arizona, like in other states, drivers who leave students behind lose their bus driver certification and can sometimes face prosecution.

“In Arizona, it is an automatic cancellation of certification for five years. At that time they have to re-apply,” said Vicki Barnett, Arizona’s state director of transportation. “We’ve even had prosecution for child endangerment in our state. Three years ago one driver was prosecuted and received jail time.”

The industry has also had a problem with drivers leaving as soon as they completed training, sometimes to take their newly acquired CDLs to the commercial transportation industry, others for a less obvious reason.

“The drivers will have no problem driving the route with the instructor, but once they get on the bus and have to deal with the kids, they’ll leave. They find out they can’t tolerate it,” said Barnett.

According to David Christopher, transportation director for Shenendehowa School District, N.Y., the student management part of the job can be very challenging.

“We need to do something to help drivers with students who do not behave. We need to give them the tools. Handling the kids is an art, not a science,” said Christopher.
The cost of training to become a school bus driver can make filling the vacant positions even harder. Although some districts pay up front, others either reimburse drivers after their training, or not at all.

“There’s a lot of expense up front: licensing, training, two drug tests (state and federal), and physicals,” added Barnett.

In Provo, Utah, transportation director Philip Lott sometimes loses drivers a group at a time. The district hires students from nearby Brigham Young University, but graduation can clean house as quickly as fill it.

“Some will stay after graduation and drive for the summer and some will go to Alaska and make three times as much driving a tour bus,” said Lott. “I struggle because the college students relate well to the younger students. We also have signs in every window in downtown Provo advertising the driving positions. It’s not a matter of trying, it’s a matter of people not being available.”

The Solutions
Sometimes districts bring in hired guns to help increase their pool of available drivers. TransPar Group, a school transportation consultant firm, first looks at the pay and benefits the district offers and then surveys the surrounding school districts to compare.

“If you’re competitive with other districts, drivers will usually drive for the district they live in,” said Ruth Newby, TransPar’s president. “The cost of training a new driver is not cheap. It’s better to raise the pay of your drivers than to have to hire and train a new person.”

Although pay can help, its sometimes the little things that make the biggest impressions.

“Small appreciations go a long way — bottled water on a hot day, potluck lunches. One complaint we hear a lot is about managers who are never seen by the drivers, never saying good morning or thank you. A thank you doesn’t cost you a thing and it goes a long way,” said Newby.

Wages for Arlington, Va., Public Schools’ bus drivers (considerably high at $16.38 to $24.28 an hour) can also be supplemented by bonuses that take the form of attendance and good driver awards.

“Our bus drivers play an important role in our school system. For nearly every student, they are the first school system employee they see every morning, and they
are the last school system employee they see for the day,” said Dan Redding, director of employee relations. “While children are in their care, they are surrogate parents.”

Retention bonuses are paid at the rate of 0.5 percent of the driver’s annual salary for each month worked during a particular school year.

“For an entry-level bus driver, this can amount to almost $1,300 if they work an 11-month, 30-hour per week contract. For a driver with 15 years experience with us, the bonus comes close to $2,200,” said Redding.

Arlington also has a “Live and Work in Arlington” Housing Grant program open to all employees who work full-time. This benefit helps with closing costs on the purchase of a primary residence in Arlington.

“All APS employees can also apply to bring their students to APS schools, free of charge, if they live outside our district. Normally tuition is charged at the cost-per-pupil rate for the school system,” added Redding.

In Lincoln County, N.C., drivers sometimes take on a different role to increase their weekly pay and hours. After their morning routes, drivers trade in their bus keys for a hair net or a mop.

“The bus driver position doesn’t carry enough hours to receive benefits and it creates a disjointed work day,” said Walter Hart, Ed.D., associate superintendent for personnel.

“We now have the ability to fill the positions easier because we can offer better pay and benefits with the dual position. Primarily, the cafeteria workers, janitors and teacher’s assistants are substitute drivers. We have some situations where an individual was hired primarily as a driver and then another position.”

The Benefits of In-Service Training
Something an simple as training can help drivers keep their jobs. Although not mandated throughout the entire U.S., annual in-service training can keep drivers up-to-date and well informed about all the newest regulations and programs available.

“I’m a believer in training,” said Ron Love, state transportation director for Delaware. “If you have a good training program, you’ll have good drivers. It would be nice to give drivers more confidence and prevent accidents that they could lose their jobs over.”

Love is in the process of creating a mandatory in-service training program for the state.

“Right now training is voluntary. I have to go through a three-month regulatory process through the department. I am looking for four hours of mandatory training each year for drivers that would include information on security, discipline, hazards, bus stops, loading/unloading, mirror adjustments and defensive driving techniques,” said Love, who hopes to implement the program by this coming fall.