Bus driver shortages challenging districts

Some students in Mason County are arriving to school late or not at all due to the shortage of bus drivers in local districts.

The shortage of drivers is forcing the Shelton School District to cancel four routes per day, finance director Brenda Trogstad told the Shelton School Board Tuesday at its meeting. She also announced that the district's transportation and lead mechanic have resigned.

Some residents are receiving robocalls from the district at 5 a.m. to get the news their buses won't be available on their route that day.

With the Pioneer School District closed until Oct. 5 due to an outbreak of COVID-19 among students and staff, the Shelton School District will be able to use their drivers, Trogstad said.

"Once Pioneer opens up, we're right back to where we're at," she said.

Bus driver applications are available at the district's website, and information is also available at 360-277-2301.

The North Mason School District has 12 fewer bus drivers then pre-COVID days, Superintendent Dana Rosenbach wrote to the Journal in an email.

"We have squished routes together as much as possible, a few buses are arriving to the elementary schools in the afternoon up to fifteen minutes later than dismissal, and some students are on the bus for over an hour," she wrote. "Our athletes are having to dismiss from school earlier in order to attend away games so that we can take them to the game and get back in time and still do routes. When a driver calls out, we will be getting more creative or having to cancel a route."

Bus driver applicants must have a high school diploma, a clean driving record, and be able to pass a background check and drug test, Rosenbach wrote. The district will train the applicants to drive a school bus.

The Mary M. Knight School District has experienced a shortage of bus drivers since December 2020, wrote Superintendent Matthew Mallery.

"We traditionally had four bus routes for both a.m. and p.m. student bus runs," he wrote. "Since January, we were only able to offer two or three bus routes per day for students due to the driver shortage. One day in March, we were only able to operate one school bus due to a drivers' absences."

The district's veteran drivers have been dedicated and have worked through personal and family illnesses, Mallery wrote.

"I don't think the public is aware of how difficult the shortage is with bus drivers," he wrote. "If we have one driver out and no substitute, it causes us to go into a backup mode and it means that students will not be picked up or dropped off at their normal time."

Mallery added, "We know that families build their work schedules around busing, but we are doing our best with limited staff to transport students on a regular schedule. We cannot just pull someone off a log truck or combination vehicle to drive a school bus based on the requirements, specialized licensing and training for the job."

Mary M. Knight's transportation supervisor is qualified to train and test bus drivers. For more information, contact Laurie Seymour at 360-426-6767, ext. 113 or [email protected].

The Southside School District operates buses through the Shelton School District Transportation Cooperative.

"We have been short one driver over the past week," Southside Superintendent Paul Wieneke wrote to the Journal on Tuesday.

"Our families have been so patient and understanding as we've had to adjust routes and schedules to maintain service," he added.

In the Hood Canal School District, "We have been super fortunate to have enough bus drivers, but I know there are extreme shortages in surrounding districts, like Mary M. Knight and Shelton,"