Local Schools Alter Routes to Address Driver Shortage
If you’ve ever dreamed of getting behind the wheel of a big yellow bus, this is your chance.
If you’ve ever dreamed of getting behind the wheel of a big yellow bus, this is your chance.
A shortage of school bus drivers is plaguing the entire nation, with the results felt even in Geauga County.
An August 2021 joint survey conducted by the National Association for Pupil Transportation, the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services and the National School Transportation Association found every region of the country has had to alter transportation plans due to the shortage, and on average, 90% of districts have altered their bus routes to account for the reduced number of available drivers.
Kenston Schools Superintendent Nancy Santilli said the nationwide bus driver shortage preceded the pandemic, but COVID-19 has compounded the issue.
“We have been proactive in consolidating bus routes, recruiting and providing training for new drivers, but this is an ongoing challenge,” she said. “In addition, the process of earning a commercial driver’s license takes several months to complete.”
In Chardon, Superintendent Michael Hanlon said the district has been reasonably okay in maintaining staffing of teachers and substitutes, but transportation continues to be a significant challenge.
In his district, Hanlon said shortages are additionally showing in custodial staff, educational assistants and cafeteria workers.
Districts nationwide are also facing shortages of aides and educational assistants, cafeteria workers and substitute teachers. In September, Education Week reported the reasons behind the shortages are complex and include “fears over health and safety, frustrations over longstanding pay gaps and inequities, and political disagreements over masks and vaccines.”
A glance through the job listings of Geauga’s five public school districts shows in addition to openings for substitute teachers in all districts, applications for custodial, clerical, kitchen and support staff are welcome.
Cardinal Schools Superintendent Bill Kermavner said keeping schools open is a daily struggle.
“We have been hit by shortages in all areas — teachers, administrators, bus drivers,” he said Jan. 11. “We’ve been drastically impacted.”
The district has had a few remote days because substitute teachers are so hard to find.
“We struggle daily to keep our schools open if we have more than five teachers in a building absent,” he said.
Hiring new teachers is a serious challenge, as well.
“Four years ago, we would get 75 applications for a teaching position,” he said.
Recently, the district advertised for one elementary teacher and of the 15 applications they received, the applicants were either not qualified or they weren’t from the area, he said.
However, the district’s performance index scores have continued to climb, he added.
As a temporary emergency measure in early 2021, the Ohio Legislature, under House Bill 409, waived a post-secondary education degree requirement for all substitute teachers in Ohio for the 2020-2021 school year. Applicants only needed to obtain a non-renewable temporary substitute teaching license from the State Board of Education.
In October of 2021, in response to the continued shortage of available substitute teachers, the Ohio General Assembly passed — and Gov. Mike DeWine signed — Senate Bill 1, an emergency legislation that allowed boards of education to relax requirements for hiring substitute teachers for the 2021-2022 school year.
“Like everyone, we have difficulty finding substitute teachers, but that has been helped greatly since the state has given us flexibility on issuing substitute teacher licenses,” Berkshire Schools Superintendent John Stoddard said. “Transportation is fully staffed for the first time since I’ve been here and I credit our partnership with First Student (a Cincinnati-based transportation contractor) for that.”
Santilli said at Kenston, substitutes in all departments are at a premium.
“Teamwork has been needed as the faculty, staff and administrators assist with classroom and departmental coverage,” she said. “We are all striving to maintain our high academic standards.”
West Geauga Superintendent Richard Markwardt said he is proud of the district’s staff for their efforts during the pandemic.
“I know that our students’ families are appreciative of the district’s ability to keep in-person instruction operational,” he said.
