CLEVELAND (WJW) — School districts across Ohio begin the new school year with a familiar and continued challenge: filling drivers’ seats on school buses.
School transportation has become a very competitive business, and although many districts have rebounded from the extremely challenging position they were in post-covid, when drivers and substitutes were very hard to find, they are still a coveted commodity.
“I’d be happy to get a handful, anything will help because I’ve been driving my mechanics, have been driving. It’s been a rough year,” said Sue Cole Avon Lake’s Transportation Director during an open invitation for residents to try out driving a school bus this past April.
Many districts across the state continue to attempt to attract new or additional drivers offering incentives that include training, bonuses and benefits.
“We’re simply poaching from each other at this point. You know, we instituted a signing bonus a couple of years ago. Well, sure enough, one of our neighbors instituted a higher signing bonus. And I mean, it just seems to be sort of a leapfrog activity at this point,” said Parma Superintendent Charles Smialek.