CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. — Capital Region schools are grappling with a shortage of school bus drivers. The shortage has even forced some school districts to resort back to remote learning in the interim. One such school district is Ballston Spa, which made the shift Friday.
Friday, Ballston Spa Central School District Superintendent of Schools, Ken Slentz, addressed parents regarding the changes and the steps they are taking to alleviate the problem posed by the shortage.
“With 10 drivers out [Friday] (due to a variety of reasons including illness, quarantine, positive cases, etc.) and each of them being assigned to at least four runs during the day, we simply are unable to cover this many runs with office staff and mechanics who typically step in when we have absences,” Slentz stated, adding that he anticipates those drivers will be back on Monday and that the school district will resume with in-person learning.
“The bus driver shortage issue is not unique to our district and we continue to take steps to compete with other districts in recruiting new drivers. One step that the Board of Education recently took, for example, was to raise the hourly rate for our drivers in training. This step was taken as the process to become a certified driver now takes 8-10 weeks and we wanted to incentivize individuals to stay in the preparation program through to the end. Said differently, recruiting drivers is an ongoing and lengthy challenge that cannot be solved overnight. That said, we will continue our recruitment work and encourage anyone who might be interested in becoming a bus driver to contact our transportation department,” Slentz explained, adding they will continue to pursue alternate options for transportation for the future.
While some districts are faring better than others, the staffing situation remains tenuous.
“With fingers crossed, I share we are ok. But this could change at any moment based on positive cases and quarantine orders,” Mechanicville Central School District Superintendent, Bruce Potter commented.
“We have been very lucky…we are fully staffed, at this time, with bus drivers, although I know the shortage is real,” Watervliet City School District Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Lori Caplan shared.
“This has been a huge challenge this year. Our outside runs, to privates and special programs have been had to be contracted out periodically,” Brunswick Central School District Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Angelina Maloney remarked.
“We have had students on buses longer and do not have consistent drivers which we believe is very important,” Maloney explained of the situation.
“This is stressful on the drivers and the rest of the transportation department,” Maloney added.
“Like many other districts, the shortage of bus drivers both locally and nationwide has affected Lansingburgh since the start of the 21-22 school year. The impact on our district has primarily been long delays for some morning/afternoon routes and combining bus routes to ensure all students are transported,” Lansingburgh Central School District Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Antonio Abitabile stated on the bus driver shortage.
“We actively work every day to address the existing issues and communicate any changes to our school families as they happen. Overall, student transportation has improved since the start of the school year and families have told us communication concerning daily changes has also improved. We are doing the best we can with our current resources but there is of course room for improvement and these issues cannot be resolved until our bus contractor is fully staffed. They are recruiting new employees and interested drivers should contact Birnie Bus (http://birniebus.com/),” Abitabile added on steps they are taking.
“School districts across the country are facing this challenge. In our school district, we currently have eight regular bus routes without a permanent driver. Those routes are being covered by substitute bus drivers, mechanics, and our Transportation Department office personnel, all of whom are licensed and experienced in driving school buses. Every day our Transportation Department is piecing together this puzzle to fill in drivers where needed or modify routes to make sure every student is brought to and from school safely. Fortunately, we haven’t needed to switch to remote learning due to a bus driver shortage, but it is a real possibility on any given day,” East Greenbush Central School District Public Information Specialist, Mark Adam, remarked on the tenuous situation.
“We are pleased to have five new school bus drivers on the road this fall. We will continue to recruit bus drivers by promoting our competitive hourly rate, benefits package, and the value in taking care of our community’s children,” Adam noted.
“And we are hopeful for any relief from the state that can help with this situation,” Adam added.
At the state level, last month, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced short-term steps to remove barriers and recruit traditional and non-traditional Commercial Driver’s License holders, expand CDL testing opportunities, and enhance processes all designed to get more drivers into school buses. Additionally, outreach efforts have been made to more than 550,000 CDL license holders in New York State.
DMV has been enhancing and expediting the process for CDL completion by removing the 14-day waiting period between the permit test and the road tests. Through enhanced cooperation with county-run DMVs, the state will also help to increase capacity to administer written exams and road tests.
Plus, the State is opening up new CDL Driver Testing sites by partnering with SUNY, the Thruway Authority, New York Racing Association, and the Office of General Services to use large lots on their various sites for the road test. For school staff who currently hold a CDL, the State will set up expedited testing to obtain a permit to drive vans and buses temporarily.
More recently, New York State Sen. Jim Tedisco, and New York State Assemblymembers Mary Beth Walsh and John T. McDonald III, joined The Capital Area Chapter of the NY Association for Pupil Transportation on Thursday at the Shenendehowa Central School District Transportation Office. The event was part of a region-wide “DRIVE-A-BUS” campaign held to call attention to the serious school bus driver shortage in the region and the State and to interest local residents in becoming school bus drivers. That event drew close to two dozen people who showed up to test drive a bus.
“There’s a school bus driver shortage that’s become a real crisis across [New York State],” Tedisco stated.
“I test drove a school bus at [Shenendehowa Central School District] to shine a light on this crisis and help recruit new bus drivers,” Tedisco continued.
“[The] State must reduce time to get new drivers licensed and incentivize retirees to become bus drivers,” Tedisco added.
“[Thursday] I joined Sen Jim Tedisco and Assemblymember Mary Beth Walsh as we advocated about the shortage of school bus drivers not only in our region but in our state. We are looking at potential legislative changes but also took a bus for a drive. If I can do it so can you!” McDonald III stated.
Shenendehowa Central School District Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Oliver Robinson, emphasized the need for new solutions to the school bus driver shortage problem.
“It is time for state laws to be changed to get more drivers and help address this crisis. Possibilities range from letting state retirees earn more money before impacting their pensions, to allowing those with other types of commercial driving licenses to drive buses without a full 21-day bus course. We cannot have our children’s education sacrificed because we can’t get our children to school. It’s an opportunity for the community to get together to support our children,” Dr. Robinson stated.
Belina Govich, Bus Dispatch/Routing Specialist at Shen and President of the Capital Area Chapter of the New York Association for the Pupil Transportation, echoed those sentiments on what school districts are facing.
“It’s all-hands-on-deck with many of our managers and mechanics driving daily. This obviously has an impact on our ability to perform our regular responsibilities. We are in crisis mode right now. Something has to give but not the safety of our children,” Govich explained.
Kyle Belokopitsky, Executive Director at New York State Parents and Teachers Association, implored the community to step up and grab the wheel.
“Transportation officials and professionals, bus drivers, bus aides, and monitors — they are heroes, and we want you to be a hero,” Belokopitsky added.
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