Substitute Bus Drivers Needed
Shenandoah County Down Seven Positions
Posted: January 29, 2013
A shortage of substitute bus drivers in Shenandoah County may exacerbate an already tight driving schedule for the spring athletic season, according to school officials.
The division is down seven substitute drivers from this time last year, said Marty Quigley, transportation supervisor.
Substitute bus drivers work on an on-call basis, filling in for full-time drivers both for planned events and emergencies, such as sick days.
Quigley said the school division had 19 substitutes seven years ago and 16 last year. That number has dwindled to just nine this year.
“Of those nine, we have four that are already on a daily bus route due to illness or injury [of the regular driver], and two that [are] retirees and are out of the area for a while,” Quigley said.
Another has a day job as an accountant and will not be available until April due to tax season.
“Realistically, on a good day we have three [substitutes] right now,” he said.
One problem is that after training, many drivers realize they can’t make a living on the variable schedule of a substitute. In Shenandoah County, substitute drivers are paid $49.06 per day when they are called in and $9.54 for each hour of overtime, which they could get for field trips or athletic events.
“Many of them take their own vehicles [to the school]. By the time you pay for the gas to and from, you’re not really making a living off the money you’re getting paid,” Quigley said.
To staff the bus routes and get students to and from school, Quigley said he has mechanics driving buses almost constantly.
“In the first 30 [days of school], we had mechanics driving 19 of those days,” he said.
Shenandoah County Schools employs four mechanics and one garage manager. The mechanics are expected to put in 40 hours in the garage and are responsible for running the training courses for drivers.
“We are unlike other school divisions that have full-time driver trainers,” Quigley said.
The shortage likely will be felt most acutely as spring sports start up in March.
“There could be a day where we need a total of 14 [substitutes],” he said. “Right now, we are going into the spring where it doesn’t look like our support is going to be there.”
Contact Kaitlin Mayhew at 574-6290 or kmayhew@dnronline.com
The division is down seven substitute drivers from this time last year, said Marty Quigley, transportation supervisor.
Substitute bus drivers work on an on-call basis, filling in for full-time drivers both for planned events and emergencies, such as sick days.
Quigley said the school division had 19 substitutes seven years ago and 16 last year. That number has dwindled to just nine this year.
“Of those nine, we have four that are already on a daily bus route due to illness or injury [of the regular driver], and two that [are] retirees and are out of the area for a while,” Quigley said.
Another has a day job as an accountant and will not be available until April due to tax season.
“Realistically, on a good day we have three [substitutes] right now,” he said.
One problem is that after training, many drivers realize they can’t make a living on the variable schedule of a substitute. In Shenandoah County, substitute drivers are paid $49.06 per day when they are called in and $9.54 for each hour of overtime, which they could get for field trips or athletic events.
“Many of them take their own vehicles [to the school]. By the time you pay for the gas to and from, you’re not really making a living off the money you’re getting paid,” Quigley said.
To staff the bus routes and get students to and from school, Quigley said he has mechanics driving buses almost constantly.
“In the first 30 [days of school], we had mechanics driving 19 of those days,” he said.
Shenandoah County Schools employs four mechanics and one garage manager. The mechanics are expected to put in 40 hours in the garage and are responsible for running the training courses for drivers.
“We are unlike other school divisions that have full-time driver trainers,” Quigley said.
The shortage likely will be felt most acutely as spring sports start up in March.
“There could be a day where we need a total of 14 [substitutes],” he said. “Right now, we are going into the spring where it doesn’t look like our support is going to be there.”
Contact Kaitlin Mayhew at 574-6290 or kmayhew@dnronline.com