PITTSBURG, Kan. -- That school bus drivers are in short supply is not news. Districts across the U.S. have been struggling to fill vacant positions for a long time. But in Pittsburg’s USD 250, the situation is getting critical.
In a letter to parents sent out Monday afternoon, the district administration was direct.
“Pittsburg Community Schools USD 250 has reached a critical point where we no longer have enough bus drivers to fulfill our current daily bus routes,” the district wrote.
The letter detailed the steps the district has taken to try to alleviate the situation, including route changes, longer drive times, reducing the number of routes, and having mechanics, office staff, coaches and administrators drive buses.
“Despite these actions, we continue to experience severe daily shortages of qualified drivers,” the letter continued.
Tom Stegman, USD 250 chief operating officer, said despite widespread advertising and community appeals, the district has gotten almost no applications for the available driving positions. If the district is not able to hire additional drivers, he said, the Board of Education will have some unpleasant decisions to make.
Some of those were outlined in the letter sent to parents.
One option would be to create an alternative transportation schedule that would be implemented on days when not enough drivers were available to complete the regular routes. On those days, pick-up times would be earlier than normal and drop-offs would be later in the afternoons.
Another possibility would be increasing the mileage for students eligible to receive transportation. Currently, the state provides transportation funding for students who live 2.5 miles or more from the school they attend. The district, however, provides transportation for students who live 1.0 miles or more from their attendance center. The district could increase its limits to align with the state’s or anywhere in between, beginning with high school and middle school students.
Another option the district might consider would be requesting that out-of-district extra-curricular activities begin at a later time, so regular-route drivers could finish their routes and then drive the activity bus.
The district could also limit out-of-town field trips to ensure that adequate numbers of drivers are available transport students to and from school.
Stegman made it clear that none of the options are ideal and his preference would be to hire the five or six drivers the district needs to hire, but he is at a loss about how to encourage applicants.
“The starting salary is $20.25 an hour and we also have district shared health benefits,” Stegman said, noting that “We do the training. We will provide the training, we’ll provide payment to get the DOT physical, we will help with all those individual things CPR, defensive driving. You come in put in 2.25 hours, you go home, and then you come back in the afternoon and put in another 2.25 hours.”
Kasey Zimmerman, district transportation director, said 250 currently runs 13 big bus routes, six pre-school/special education routes and one bus goes to TLC.
“The drivers come in at 6:15 in the morning. Each shift is 2.25 hours. The morning is 6:15 to 8:30 and the afternoon is 2:15 to 4:30. They come in and pre-trip their bus and start their route. They have a set 4.5 hours a day that they’re contracted for. They can pick up additional hours. We have a bus for pre-school mid-day. And we have late routes Dragon Academy, which is our late route for elementary, and then field trips. We have a CTECH and a PATH bus that we run as well.”
Zimmerman said they lost two drivers in December. Another one is out indefinitely for a family emergency and three more are scheduled to retire at the end of the school year.
Stegman said the shortage of bus drivers is more than just an economic issue.
“The bus drivers who build relationships with those kids is probably one of the most important jobs we have,” Stegman said. “These individuals see our kids before they get to school. First ones on, first ones off. That is such an important part of the day. We have children who need those adults.”
Stegman noted that it’s not just bus drivers that the district is having a hard time finding.
“Our night time custodial positions are very difficult to fill right now,” Stegman said, noting that there are positions open at Pittsburg High School, Westside Elementary and Pittsburg Community Middle School. Those pay $14.25 an hour and include district-shared health insurance and KPERS.
“We’ve had positions that have been open 2-3 months and nobody has applied,” he said.
He also noted that there is always a need for additional substitute teachers and paraprofessionals.
Stegman encouraged interested persons to find out more by visiting the district’s website, www.usd250.org and clicking on the Careers button on the home page.
