Driving the Future
Gwen Akers
The Ashland Beacon
Every morning before school starts, the children down the street line up at the bus stop. They are awake with the sun, and often the first face they see is that of their bus driver, pulling up to the curb with a smile on their face. Bus drivers are the front lines of our school system. They are the ones who both start and end the day with our students, the ones who see the student on both a personal and academic level, and the first to wish a student a good day.
Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic sent many bus drivers into early retirement, this vital industry is still in need—spinning its wheels in need of new drivers.
“After COVID came along, as an industry as a whole, it caused a lot of people to make the decision just to go ahead and take retirement who were eligible for retirement. Once that has taken place, we've had such a large number to go out at one time as an industry as a whole. Now, it's left a tremendous vacuum that is becoming ever increasingly difficult in order to try to fill within our district itself,” noted Jeff Fletcher, a past social studies teacher and bus driver who is now the incoming Transportation Director for Greenup County Schools.
The shortage is a nationwide problem and has hit schools in our area especially hard. Cheryl Caldwell, Transportation Director for the Boyd County Public School System, noted that some routes have even had to be canceled due to a lack of personnel. Overnight trips, long trips, and even short day trips have had to be cut or reorganized due to the lack of personnel.
Driving a school bus is one of those positions that are not often recognized but is extremely vital to the daily routine of a school day, not including after-school and overnight trips for classes and extracurriculars alike.
“You can have the most supportive board of education that's ready to back him or her. You could put a top-of-the-line principal in every building, who is ready and gung-ho in order to get things done. You can put a blue-ribbon teacher in every single room. You can have the cafeteria worker who serves the best-tasting food in the world, and you can have a janitor crew who keeps the building absolutely spotless. And, none of that stuff means a single thing unless you have bus drivers who are willing to take vehicles into places where the average person does not even want to take their car. Because at the end of the day, if it was not for the drivers, nothing else would be possible,” explained Fletcher. “The best plans would not be able to be implemented if it wasn't for individuals who were willing to drive to those places, and especially even during winter conditions.”
Being a bus driver for a public school district is a rewarding job–one that demands both care, precision, and compassion. Bus drivers start out around $16 an hour, working morning and evening split shifts. Bus drivers work independently with part-time hours and full-time benefits. Drivers also qualify for health insurance and retirement benefits as well as summers and holidays off.
Training to become a bus driver takes only a few months, and applicants will earn their class B CDL license. Caldwell also encouraged applicants to not be intimidated by either the kids or the vehicle itself—as you will be prepared for any situation after your training, and you always have your school district at your back.
“I miss being on the bus with the kids, the relationships you build with the kids, and the opportunities to help them out,” commented Caldwell.
Those interested in the Boyd County area should check out one of two sessions held on Monday, June 26th, 2023 at the Sport’s Complex at Boyd Co. High School—from either 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. or 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. This will allow participants a chance to meet the members of the Driver Training Team, and test drive a school bus. Those interested in the Greenup area should also reach out to their local Transportation office about setting up a test drive date.
“I tell our drivers, you are the very first person who gets an opportunity to be positive with that student, and you're the last person who gets an opportunity to be positive with that student,” said Fletcher.
As a community, it is up to us to put wheels on the ground to drive our children into a better future.