School bus driver shortage a growing concern; incentives addressed

    It’s something many school districts are facing—a shortage of bus drivers.
    The issue was discussed at Tuesday’s Chase County Schools board of education meeting, as board members and administration tossed around possible solutions.
    Supt. Adam Lambert told the board three bus drivers have left the force since September 2022.
    Three individuals are taking certification classes now, he said, but he’s unsure if any of them will drive daily routes during the school year, where the real shortage exists.
    “We are making do, but it’s not great,” Lambert said.
    That led him to make the decision in May that Imperial in-town bus pickups before and after school will be  eliminated this fall. Parents were informed by email.
    While Lambert would like to continue with the practice on rural routes that send busses down driveways to get students, it will depend on driver numbers.
    “If we don’t get enough drivers, that will be the next step—establishing drop-off points,” he said.
    Eliminating the in-town bus service drew comments from some board members who felt more options should be explored.
    Board member Linsey Foote said the decision was premature.
    “It’s going to be tough finding a parking space out front. It’ll be craziness,” she said.         Foote noted there has been limited parking after school with the in-town bus service running.
    Board member Jeff Olsen asked if other options were considered before cancelling the in-town service.
    He asked, without in-town routes, what the school will do when school is called off early due to snow and it’s 0 degrees out.
    “Are you going to send kindergarten, first and second graders a mile away walking?” Olsen asked.
    Lambert said they will let the parents know.
    Board president Karl Meeske noted CCS hasn’t always offered in-town bus service.
     “If we don’t have a bus driver.....it used to be that way,” Meeske said.
    He said the parents then would have to come pick up their kids.
    “If we don’t have an option, what do we do?” Meeske asked.
    Rather than use a separate driver for the in-town routes, board member Willy O’Neil noted CCS used to have route bus drivers pick up the in-town students in the morning and drop them off after school.
    Rex Felker, CCS Director of Transportation, said the problem with that was they have to account for who is on every bus, “and there was a lot of this ‘Well, I’ll just jump on this bus to go to my friend’s house.’”
    The route busses stopping in-town also made for a longer ride for the rural students, he said.
    O’Neil said he’s seen some route busses at the school as early as 7:30 a.m. Others noted the early arrival allows students to utilize the breakfast service.
    According to Felker, about 140 students are registered to use the in-town bus service. That is the total number signed up, which does not mean they all use the service every day.
    He said 20-30 “tops” use the morning in-town service and estimated about 60 ride in the afternoon on average.
    One bus services two in-town routes in the morning, taking the first load of students to the school earlier, then returning to the second route for pickup.
Options to increase drivers
    The board discussed offering health insurance, increasing pay and other options to help get more drivers.
    Route drivers are paid a flat rate for each route they drive. Those who have a CDL license earn $10 more per route. Increases in the rates come with years of experience.
    A driver with a CDL starts at $50 per route, or $100 a day if driving both morning and afternoon.
    The rate goes to $55 with 3-6 years experience, $60 for 7-9 years and $65 for 10-plus years.
    Drivers without the CDL earn $10 less per route, Lambert said.
    Lambert said covering the afternoon routes poses more of a problem because many of the morning drivers have other jobs, and can’t leave them to drive in the afternoon.
    The option of laptops with software that can easily record students who are on each bus was also suggested.
    The board’s building and grounds committee will meet before the next meeting to further discuss the issue.
    Board member Jeff Wallin, who’s on that committee, said offering insurance is something they need to look at, along with other incentives.
    “Getting more drivers is the root of the problem,” he said.
    Lambert said CCS pays potential drivers for classes needed, as well as their physicals.
Other business
    Mallory Perez, who now lives in Wyoming, was hired as an elementary teacher and will teach second grade.
    Lambert said she will take the class now taught by Ashley Vlasin, who has accepted the K-6 guidance counselor position vacated by Cathy Hanna’s retirement.
    Perez has been working at Sunrise Elementary School in Cheyenne the last couple of years as a Title 1 teacher.
    Perez’s hiring fills all the 2023-24 CCS teaching positions, Lambert said. There are still bus driver and para-professional jobs to fill.
    An expenditure of $19,731 was approved for three desktop computers and six laptops for the new technology class starting in 2023-24 to be taught by Nathan Gaswick.
    The IT Fundamentals class, now a state-mandated course, will be taken by all eighth grade students, Lambert said, and will include web design, digital media, digital design and web design and development instruction.
    The board also renewed the contract with St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf to provide service for CCS students.
    Lambert reported he and the board’s building and grounds committee met with Carroll Seating to narrow down details for the new  Longhorn gym bleacher project.
    The topographical survey on the school’s east parking lot is completed. Plan drawings are now being done for paving and expanding the lot.