SOUTHERN INDIANA — When it comes to school bus drivers, local officials say it isn’t hard to keep them around for years. Finding them, however, is a different story. Local districts have made changes to their pay scale to attract more to the field.
In the West Clark Community Schools district there are no current openings for drivers, according to assistant superintendent of support services Tom Brillhart. That may be because two years ago, the pay structure was changed and enhanced to draw more to the position.
“I wouldn’t say we are over-abundant in staffing with drivers… but we are operating at full capacity,” Brillhart said.
Though the pay is within the district’s control, the qualification required (namely a CDL-B classification on a driver’s license) is not. That criteria limits the candidate pool of qualified drivers.
“It’s not necessarily a labor shortage, it’s a labor shortage with a CDL-B. It’s a difficult item to get onto your license. It’s not as easy as people would think. You don’t just walk into the BMV and get one,” he said.
In the Greater Clark County Schools Corp., director of transportation Dave Rarick said staffing is “a universal problem.”
“I think… it’s because you can’t just hire a driver,” Rarick said. “They have to have all the endorsements – Class B CDL, school bus endorsements, there’s a 3-day class through Department of Education to get a yellow card. There’s a physical, a drug test. There’s so many hoops to jump through.”
Rarick, who is seeking replacements for a handful of recently-retired drivers, said changes to pay have made staffing challenges a bit easier for him. Since he’s been hired on as director, the starting pay has increased by $3 an hour for bus monitors and even more than that for drivers.
He says the strange hours (there’s a long gap in the day) are perfect for retirees who are looking for a little extra income, for a business owner or someone who already has a part-time job.
The biggest lure in Greater Clark, Rarick said, is the benefits package. Though most drivers work five hours a day, they are offered the same health insurance package available to teachers.
“That’s why a lot of these drivers are here,” he said.
As in Greater Clark and West Clark school districts, the pay for drivers and substitutes in New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corp. has increased in recent years to attract candidates. According to Eric Reid, director of transportation for the district, the pay increased from $18.53 for the 2016/17 school year to $20 an hour beginning the 2017/18 school year. Only substitutes can move into the position of route driver, he said.
Reid and assistant director of transportation Rick Cathcart still face some challenges.
According to Cathcart, finding interested folks who can pass a drug test, a physical and are willing to go through the same “hoops” that Rarick described can be tricky. But, once they're hired, they tend to stay. There are about 15 drivers on the payroll who have driven for more than 20 years, Cathcart said.
“Most people really don’t think about driving a school bus for a living. It doesn’t cross their mind. Once they get in there and find out the perks and benefits… well, once we get them, they don’t leave,” he said.
Brillhart echoed the sentiment, saying “There’s a reason why we don’t have a lot of turnover. I think there’s something to be said about that.”