MERIDIAN — In Boise and West Ada, school starts in a week, and year-rounds are already underway. As a parent or student, you may not notice the problem come start of the school year, but the shortage of school bus drivers is a dilemma districts here at home - and across the country - have been grappling with for years.
“It’s hit us as hard as it’s hit anybody and we're going to do our very best start of the school year. But we will be short on people unless we can get more on board,” West Ada School District spokesman Eric Exline said.
It's caused by a few factors: Our economy is strong and unemployment is low and school bus driver pay isn't the greatest. Plus, you're dealing with kids for hours. It's a challenging job, but long-time drivers say it's rewarding.
Cascade Student Transportation Student Management Coordinator Regina Fronteras has been driving school buses for about 19 years. She wanted to be involved with her children more and after a family member suggested this profession, she never left the field.
“I love driving a big bus but I love the kids,” Fronteras said. “We have a positive influence on them.”
Cascade Student Transportation Operations Supervisor and cover driver Bunny Malmin has also been driving for 19 years because she wanted to be with her kids.
“You get to get them in a good mood before they get to the teacher. You're the first smile they see in the morning,” Malmin said. “You have to be good with children. You have to be able to respect them and work with them.”
Fronteras and Malmin listed off reasons they love driving school buses, yet there are several reasons people wouldn't want to do the generally part-time job.
“The most challenging thing about bus driving is making for sure you're taking care of student management needs during a time when you’re navigating through traffic,” Fronteras told KTVB.
“I think just unemployment; there are so many other jobs available right now to people, possibly at a higher rate,” Malmin added. “Or they’re just not looking to watch kids. That’s really what we're doing: we are taking care of children a.m. and p.m.”
The West Ada School District and the bus company they contract with, Cascade Student Transportation, say they're pretty tight for drivers this year.
“It’s always a challenge but I would say it’s getting worse just because I think as the economy is getting better, the unemployment rate is going down, the competition for employees is getting higher,” Exline told KTVB.
Cascade is upping their pay and incentives to try to attract and keep drivers. They say they added attendance bonuses, commercial drivers license incentive bonuses, higher wages, and some benefits to the part-time gig.
“They are doing everything they can,” Exline added. “There is a bit of hiring to be done yet.”
But if it gets too tight, drivers might have to pick kids up from other routes or re-route drivers - and parents might get frustrated because they would notice their children’s bus routes become longer than normal. Exline says a normal bus route in West Ada is about an hour long.
“When you have a shortage of drivers it delays things and our routers and dispatchers really have to work with who's in that area already and who's sitting that can run over there and grab those kids. It just really depends on where staff is at that time,” Malmin told KTVB. “It’s been a little frustrating. Because a parent calls, they want to know my bus isn't here yet, what’s going on? So we just have to kind of reassure them it’s coming, it’s on the way. We're not going to leave them.”
Or people like Fronteras and Malmin who work in the office now would have to hop on.
“The strain that puts on the system is then the people who supervise or work in dispatch they all have [Commercial Driver’s Licenses] so they go out and drive routes to fill patches,” Exline added. “That backup support for the driver isn’t as strong as it should be.”
Malmin says they have 205 drivers to cover their 207 routes, but still need about 14 drivers so they can cover all routes as well as have enough on-call drivers. But Malmin believes that pay increase they are offering will encourage more qualified people to apply. The nature of this industry, Cascade employees say, is one of constant hiring.
“It is challenging work. You have to be patient with kids, you have to want to work with kids. If you like that, it’s really rewarding,” Exline added.
A spokesman with the Boise School District says they're facing a shortage, too. They have new bus drivers currently going through training, who they say will be ready to get behind the wheel by the end of August. Until then, in order to help with the start of school, their bus contractor, First Student, is bringing in seven bus drivers from Oregon.
Boise Schools says First Student is accepting applications for school bus drivers and monitors. Those interested in applying can do so online or in person at the School Bus Facility at 465 W. Gowen Rd. in Boise.