HOULTON, Maine — One month into the school year, some superintendents still are finding it difficult to fill all of the available bus driver or substitute driver positions in their districts.
RSU 29 Superintendent Ellen Halliday said Friday that her district is “critically short” of bus drivers this year.
“Throughout the state and beyond, schools are suffering from a severe shortage of support positions, including bus drivers and custodians,” Halliday said. “It is no exception in RSU 29.”
RSU 29, which includes Houlton, Hammond, Littleton and Monticello, has 11 full-time bus drivers with two vacant positions as of Oct. 1.
In addition, one of the full-time drivers is also a firefighter and can only work two or three days a week. “In turn, we need to have his bus run covered by a sub on his days off. We have just trained another full-time firefighter that will be a substitute, but only available on certain days. We are nearing the end of training with another applicant that should have his license within the next couple of weeks.”
Complicating the matter is a lack of substitute drivers Halliday can call upon to fill any vacancies that arise during the school year.
“Our substitute pool is extremely limited with one sub and two employees who are able to do some runs depending on the timing,” she said. “Our transportation director (Joe Schneider) is filling in many days. We are in desperate straits.”
In addition, one of the custodians who also could drive a bus retired Friday after 46 years with the district. She added that the district is covering all of the bus shifts at the moment, but could use additional substitutes to fill in whenever a driver is out sick.
The requirements for becoming a bus driver in Maine likely have something to do with the shortage, Halliday said. To become a school bus driver, the applicant must:
— Pass a criminal background check.
— Pass a federal motor carrier physical.
— Have a good driving record with no driving under the influence convictions within the past 10 year.
— Pass a written exam.
— Complete at least 40 hours of driver training.
— Pass a driving skills test that includes a cone course, pre-trip inspection of the mechanical systems and a road test.
— Pass a pre-employment drug test which includes marijuana. (Although it is legal in Maine it is prohibited by federal regulations).
To help cover the shortage, the RSU 29 board approved a special exception during its Sept. 10 board meeting, to allow the hiring of Schneider’s son as a bus driver/custodian. The exception was needed because the district has a nepotism policy in place that prevents a relative from working for a supervisor.
Margaret White, East Grand School superintendent/principal, said her district is not suffering the same fate as Houlton. East Grand has three drivers and three substitutes, with the longest run taking about 70 minutes.
“We have a small substitute list, but they are reliable and filling the need at this point,” she said. “As for bus drivers/custodians, we are starting the year fully staffed.”
Dawn Pray, RSU 89 (Katahdin) superintendent, said her district was struggling with the shortage, even though they are offering incentives to would-be drivers.
“We are providing paid training, along with reimbursement of out-of-pocket costs for exams, in hopes that will incentivize people to work,” Pray said. “Custodians are not an issue, it is mostly an issue finding bus drivers. There is a lot of training involved and not everyone feels comfortable driving a busload of kids. Also, usually, drivers receive 20 hours a week, which sometimes is not enough hours pay wise.”
The shortage, however, has not impacted bus routes in Katahdin, she said.
“We are not short drivers to impact our routes, it is more about spare drivers when we have trips,” she explained. ”Sometimes it can get tight with doing regular routes and trips (for sports or school events).
SAD 70 (Hodgdon) Superintendent Scott Richardson said his district is fully-staffed with seven drivers.
“We try to recruit and spread the word that we are willing to do what it takes to get you certified and trained with no out of pocket costs with successful completion and hire,” he said. “We definitely need more substitutes, though.”
RSU 50 Superintendent Jon Porter, who also serves as the high school principal for Southern Aroostook Community School, said his district too has an issue with substitute drivers. The district is currently exploring changes to its bus runs.
“This year we changed our runs a bit,” Porter said. “We send six buses out to pick students up in the morning and only send five buses out in the afternoon. We can fit all of our student bus riders on the five buses, but because of the geographical distance of our district it takes longer for buses to complete a bus run.”
He added that RSU 50 has a number of students who stay for the After School Program or are involved in sports. Therefore, one less bus run in the afternoon has worked out well for the district.
“We are evaluating the impact one less bus in the afternoon is having,” Porter said. “So far, we are averaging around 50-60 students staying for the after-school program. We will continue to track this for the year to help us for future planning or to make adjustments to our runs.”
