The Paso Robles Joint Unified School District is among the many school districts statewide struggling to staff bus drivers.
Shauna Ames, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, said that one of the main roadblocks they run into when hiring is the certification to become a licensed bus driver, which she says can be expensive and a lot of work. She also said that some applicants have struggled with the position not being full-time.
That's why the district is trying out a new format.
"We have a new 12-month bus driver position where it'll be year-round and a full eight hours. We're hoping that will recruit people that want to use this as their career," Ames said. "The benefits of that is we're also able to hire someone before they have their license, so we are going to train them and support them in getting their bus driver license in the first six months of their employment. After they've earned their bus driver license, they can also have their sign-on bonuses. We've increased their pay and sign-up bonuses. To fill in the gaps when they're not needed to drive a bus, we're going to have these individuals also help with grounds and facility maintenance, which is also a need in our district, so it's a win-win."
She says the district is starting with three available full-time positions and adds that they are also hiring for the standard part-time positions.
"They transport all of our students, students of special needs, students who might need transportation based on different aspects in their lives, and we also want to have home-to-school transportation as much as possible for our students, but we are short-staffed right now," Ames said.
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