Christian County Public Schools is taking proactive measures to address the shortage of bus drivers in the district by introducing enticing incentives.
Superintendent Chris Bentzel presented the idea for a bus driver incentive program to school board members at Thursday night’s meeting. He started out by addressing the issues the district started having in September with bus drivers and routes. He explained the district has about 90 bus routes and since COVID the transportation department has maintained about 10 emergency drivers as fill-ins for substitute bus drivers. In September, however, he noted they started having some issues with bus drivers due to sickness, field trips and sports, which mostly affected the afternoon routes.
click to download audioAs a result, Bentzel explained that on three separate occasions, routes had to be canceled just two weeks before the fall break due to a lack of substitute bus drivers. Furthermore, he stated they didn’t get any negative feedback from parents affected by the route cancellations.
click to download audioHe said they realized they needed to do something different after fall break. As part of the solution, Bentzel noted they have four or five schools in the “bullpen” each week that have emergency certified drivers ready to fill in until they can get more substitute drivers. Additionally, he mentioned that there are currently five drivers undergoing training that are expected to be ready to go by November 1.
Bentzel revealed another long-term strategy to address the shortage of substitute bus drivers, which involves a two-fold approach. The first step is organizing a Road-eo event at the Stadium of Champions on Saturday, November 28, from 9 a.m. until Noon.
click to download audioDirector of Transportation Mike Brumley added that if they could get 10 people it would be a huge success.
The district is also offering an incentive program for bus drivers, that Bentzel said is a “refer a friend incentive.”
click to download audioFurthermore, he explained that up to 20 school district employees total and up to two refers per employee. They also want people to refer outside of CCPS, however, he added it will be on a case-by-case basis.
Following the presentation, school board members unanimously approved the bus driver incentive program.
