No Shortage of Drivers? Tell That to These Schools

I've heard from transportation directors across the country that one silver lining to the current economy is that it has reversed a trend toward driver shortages, a problem that has historically plagued the industry.

Lack of pay and guaranteed hours has often been a culprit, especially when others with their commercial driver's license can receive more pay with less responsibility at transit agencies and private trucking firms. But over the past year, with unemployment running rampant, school tranportation personnel have told me on the phone and in person that they finally have enough employees to fill all the driver seats. Yet, a different story is coming out of Arkansas, according to the Couriernews.com.

Reporter Cindi Nobles writes about the Atkins and Russellville school districts in the northwest part of the state that say they are experiencing continued problems finding drivers.

Russellville School District transportation director Jim Dickerson said he has received many phone calls in which individuals indicated interest in the job, but not many actual applicants.

“I’ve had a lot of guys calling, saying, ‘Hey man, you got any openings?’” Dickerson said. “Of course, we always do, but nobody actually comes in here and fills out an application.”

Mike Simmons, the senior transportation manager at the Arkansas Department of Education, said that he has also heard some school districts complain about a lack of drivers in this economic environment, mostly from more rural areas where the pool of potential drivers is much smaller to begin with.

"In some districts, and nobody's got an overabundance of driver,s but no one is really hurting. And then i have other districts where the transportation director has to drive just about everyday," he said.

Apparently, add continued driver shortages to the problems rural districts have with the skyrocketing costs of transporting children many more miles than their more urban counterparts.

Incorporating the School Bus into Back to School Bus Night

By Ryan Gray

The About.com Special Needs Children blog had an interesting post today from writer Terry Mauro on the importance of parents attending their child's back to school night. She says more and more parents are skipping out on the annual rite of passage, as it appears busy schedules or plain disinterest are at play.

I can't say that I'm surprised, though it still is disheartening that so many parents don't or can't make the time to attend. Mauro provides a list of 10 reasons why back to school night is a must for parents. Mauro speaks from the special needs angle, but I write about it here in the Daily Routes blog because it rings true for all parents, especially those whose kids ride the school bus.

One evening a year is not too much to ask to get to know your child's teachers, the parents of your child's classmates. It's a great opportunity to see your child's classroom(s) and gauge the type of learning environment available to them. My question is, how many back to school nights also include school bus drivers? Despite budget cuts, I think it would be a great idea for schools to find the money to pay drivers for two extra hours to attend back to school night and to make themselves available to parents. It would be doubly grand if the school could incorporate some sort of school bus introduction or training for those parents whose kids ride yellow. Perhaps it's already done. I'd love to hear about it.