![]() Though a shortage of school bus drivers was an issue before the pandemic, the problem has worsened in the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year and several school districts around the US are having trouble finding enough drivers.Īccording to a survey published in August 2021 by the National Association for Pupil Transportation, 51% of school district respondents reported their driver shortages as “severe” or “desperate”. ![]() When Covid-19 shutdowns hit the US in March 2020, school bus drivers either quit, were furloughed, laid off, retired or got sick as schools transitioned to online learning.Ī ‘Bus Drivers Wanted’ sign seen in Sandy, Utah, in August. All the counties around us are getting better pay at this point,” added Marshall. Drivers are also expected to pay for their own commercial driver’s license, background check and maintain a clean driving record. Her school district has offered bus drivers a $50-a-week stipend incentive, which Marshall argued does not make up for the low salaries drivers make, around $19,000 a year, in addition to the stipulations of attendance or having to work extra routes in order to receive the stipend. “A lot of us have been doing double runs and they’re making it permanent,” said Marshall. ![]() Marshall explained that school bus drivers are driving buses packed with up to 70 students at once, often having to work multiple routes during a shift as routes were cancelled and consolidated due to the shortages. They are also advocating for drivers to be provided with any paid sick time they used to quarantine due to exposure or testing positive for Covid-19. Nichole Marshall, a school bus driver in Bullitt county, Kentucky, is one of several drivers to have participated in protests and sick-outs over the past few weeks for pay raises amid driver shortages in the county.
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