K
eeping a transportation department fully staffed with dependable employees often involves significantly more than merely negotiating pay raises. It’s a fact of life that Jack DeForrest knows
too well. “We never quit recruiting,” said the executive director of transportation for North East ISD in San Antonio, which is currently 25 school bus drivers short of the 300 it needs to be full staffed. DeForrest said the district has tried online advertisements, newspaper posts and even running six to 12 rotating billboards on a 90-day contract to reach as many potential applicants as possible. “And it’s never enough,” he added. “We’re also going to start
advertising on the digital television in the DMV lounges, so that folks waiting in lines get exposed to our school bus driver ads.” The district even offers employees a $500 referral incen-
tive, which is paid if the new driver remains an employee for 88 school days.
There are 16 other districts in the San Antonio area, which
makes it easier for applicants to pick and choose, and look for a position that offers a dollar or two more per hour. De- Forrest said his edge is that he has three terminals, and 30 percent of his current drivers are retired military personnel. They are willing to work for a little less money, in order to be part of a well-run district with the reputation for taking care of its employees. “It is painful to have a good driver leave and go work for an- other district for a small difference in pay,” DeForrest admitted. The nationwide driver shortage has also created a situa-
tion where everyone from principals to cafeteria workers (and certainly anyone with a pulse in the transportation department) have obtained CDLs, so they can pick up routes. In Francesville, Indiana, Principal Dan Zylstra is tackling the problem by not only driving students to and from school, but also writing a dissertation on the issue. “There isn’t good data from the [U.S.] Bureau of Labor and
Statistics,” said Zylstra, a candidate for a doctorate in edu- cation from Indiana University. “You can see how much a school bus driver should make, but it doesn’t really show what’s going on, because districts have a lot of variables in their pay format. ... And since I’m experiencing the driver shortage first-hand, I wanted to study ways that small dis- tricts like mine can recruit drivers.” Zylstra discussed the themes that he’s uncovered from
interviewing rural districts in his area. Even though they are short of drivers, these districts aren’t aggressively advertising. Newspaper ads, posting on the school’s website, or using word of mouth, are the ways most applicants learn about the job and sign-on to be substitutes. They often sub for a long time, while waiting for a regular route to become available.
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