Bus Driver Shortage Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

W.Va. School Bus Driver Shortage: Bus Routes Canceled, Parents Scrambling

Statewide, there’s about 4,000 buses and 2,900 drivers.

A continuing West Virginia school bus driver shortage has bus routes being canceled daily and parents scrambling to get their children to school.

Eric Keesecker is the executive director of the Berkeley County Schools transportation department. The county has 240 bus routes that need to be covered twice a day, every school day. Keesecker said he’s canceling at least three routes daily, each route averaging 50-55 students. He said it’s the worst he’s seen in his 17 years on the job.

“We have 15 vacancies that we start off with every day,” Keesecker said. “We have a few substitutes and most of those are retired bus drivers that only want to work a couple of days a week, so basically we have zero substitutes.”

Before the school year started, Raleigh County Schools Transportation Director Greg Betkijian developed a series of problems. He said he had unusually low numbers in summer bus driver classes, several drivers that left for other opportunities and the usual retired bus drivers that filled in the gaps weren’t coming forward this year.

“We had urgent illnesses and other medical issues as well,” Betkijian said. “It was like a perfect storm. We have about 120 bus routes each day. We don’t have a full list of full-time drivers, and we don’t have a full list of subs either. There’s about five or six runs every day that we’re not going to be able to cover, and that’s if everybody works every day.”

Keesecker said Berkeley County parents on canceled bus routes have stepped up.

“A lot of parents have developed a carpooling system to get the kids to school,” he said. “However, if there isn’t a ride for that child, then the child stays home, and they get their work for the day off of our website.”

Betkijian said other Raleigh County bus drivers try to pick up second routes, but that creates confusion.

“Especially for the younger grades,” Betkijian said. “A lot of the elementary kids, they know they ride a certain bus number. If another bus picks them up, it creates some confusion for the child which, in turn, creates confusion for the parents.”

David Baber is transportation director for the West Virginia Department of Education. He said statewide, there’s about 4,000 buses and 2,900 drivers. Baber said he did like what he heard about the Berkeley County parent carpools.

“At least we’re getting the students to school that way,” Baber said. “I don’t know what we could do at the state level to do anything about that.”

All agree what would help recruit and retain is a pay raise. West Virginia school bus drivers with a CDL license make about $25,000 a year. Keesecker said they can make triple that in the private sector.

“There are so many manufacturers and companies that have come into this area, not just Berkeley County, across the state line in Maryland and Virginia,” Keesecker said.”We’re all fighting for the same labor pool.”

The issue isn’t unique to border counties, and Barber said the state Department of Education continues to push the West Virginia Legislature for needed bus driver pay raises. But he said the challenge goes beyond that.

“We are losing or have lost people to other industries,” Barber said. “We don’t have people beating the door down to get in here anymore like we used to. It’s just a different time that we’re in. We’ve got to figure this out. ”

Baber said a critical shortage of school bus mechanics continues as well.

“They’re going to higher paid jobs,” Baber said. “Some counties want their mechanics to also drive school buses and some don’t want to do that. We have them leaving left and right as well.”

Betkijian did say in Raleigh County, some things are looking up.

“We do have two classes going on right now,” Betkijian said. “We will see five or six folks come out of those classes very soon and become bus drivers for us. I think there is light at the end of the tunnel. Our cancellations each week are trending downward. I don’t know what the answer is, but we’re going to keep recruiting and keep training and see if we can overcome this problem.”

Tackling The School Bus Driver Shortage On This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, a continuing West Virginia school bus driver shortage has bus routes being canceled daily and parents scrambling to get their children to school. Randy Yohe talks with three school transportation directors about the challenges they face, and anything that might increase this struggling workforce.

On this West Virginia Morning, a continuing West Virginia school bus driver shortage has bus routes being canceled daily and parents scrambling to get their children to school. Randy Yohe talks with three school transportation directors about the challenges they face, and anything that might increase this struggling workforce.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.

Caroline MacGregor produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

School Bus Driver, Mechanic Shortage Affecting Student Education

The challenge to recruit and retain public school bus drivers remains at a critical level, and it’s having a ripple effect on student education.

The challenge to recruit and retain public school bus drivers remains at a critical level, and it’s having a ripple effect on student education. Meanwhile, a shortage of bus mechanics is only aggravating the problem.

Randy Yohe spoke with West Virginia School Service Personnel Association Executive Director Joe White about the urgent need to find a solution, including legislative remedies, enacted or dismissed, to fix the problem.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Yohe: We’ve heard for a while now from the West Virginia Department of Education transportation folks that there continues to be a critical need and shortage of school bus drivers. How critical is it?

White: It’s very critical. I’ve just completed a quick text message sent to a few of our leaders. With about five or six counties, we were probably 50 drivers short of making all routes every day, and that was just a handful of counties. It gets worse as you go into all 55 counties with our students paying the price. In some instances, they’re unable to be picked up. The parents either had to take them or they were excused for the day. A lot of our bus drivers are doubling up or tripling up runs, making extra trips or getting as many students on the bus as they possibly can. So that’s what we’re faced with.

Yohe: Does that get you concerned about safety?

White: It does concern me with safety, and I’m sure it concerns them as well. I have to say this, in the state of West Virginia, we have a top-notch transportation department. I’ll put these guys and girls up against any state because they’re very well trained. Still, we always have some concerns about safety – if a bus is crowded or they have to be concerned with the number of trips they’re making and doubling and tripling up. In most of our counties, our drivers can’t even take a day off to go to their doctor’s appointment because they don’t have anybody to replace them.

Yohe: I’ve heard you make the statement that substitute bus drivers are a thing of the past. Why is that?

White: The majority of the reasons why is the pay. Compared to the salaries with our surrounding areas, we’re lower than all of our surrounding states. We’re about 26th in the nation with pay. It’s so much easier now with the way things are that they have their CDL license so that they can get jobs driving KRT buses, they can go drive water trucks, they can drive fuel trucks and they get paid more. There’s a lot of responsibility on drivers. Our drivers have to take training if there’s medication involved for a student. And all of the staff development hours are required over and above the 18 hours required by state code. In some instances, it’s easier just to get a job somewhere else.

Yohe: The recently passed House Bill 2346 lifts the 140 Day maximum limit for bus driver retirees who have returned to work. Does that make a difference? Or will it?

White: It will make a difference. I think the number that was thrown out we had about 141 retirees currently working that the bill would affect.

Yohe: I understand there’s a critical shortage of school bus mechanics and technicians. How severe is that?

White: It is very severe. In most counties where we have this issue our mechanics are driving every day. Think about that our mechanics are having to stop what they’re doing, and drive the buses, because there’s not enough bus operators. Number one, our counties really don’t hire enough mechanics to start with to keep the fleets going. Number two, some of our mechanics drive every day. Because of the shortage, we have maintenance guys that have been drivers that still hold certification. It is an issue. This somehow has to be addressed.

Yohe: That becomes a ripple effect, doesn’t it? If you’ve got mechanics, driving buses and other workers working as mechanics, you’re going to have some shortfalls?

White: Absolutely, you’re absolutely correct. And it’s not just the drivers, it’s not just the mechanics. They can leave – mechanics, technicians, they can go just about anywhere, and get paid more money with the expertise that they have. So it falls down to this, if we want to make education a centerpiece, as they say, then we need to encompass all of it and take care of all of the issues. People are not lined up to work, to get jobs in the school system. They stay away from them, even the teachers, everybody. It’s just there’s a shortage in just about every field.

Yohe: If there’s not something done to get these pay rates to some kind of regional equal compensation, what other effects may this personnel shortage have on West Virginia education?

White: It’s going to have a drastic effect on education in general, and on the state of West Virginia. We have to take care of those that serve in the education industry. It will just be a ripple effect if it’s not addressed and taken care of, and that includes the benefits as well. You’ve got to understand that over the years benefits have slowly eroded away. The pay is not equal to where it should be. There was a bill that was introduced from the House Education Committee that would have drastically raised service personnel salaries and would have put them comparative to surrounding states. Not only do we think that would have brought more people, I think it would have brought folks that have left the system to come back. You’ve got to understand that most of the majority of the service personnel in this state qualify for federal assistance because of the pain. The average service personnel salary right now in the state of West Virginia, according to the department of education, is $31,000 a year. These hard-working folks have to raise and feed their families. Our government has to be serious about this.

Hiring Retired School Bus Drivers, Enhancing State Trail Network Recreation Passed Become Law

Noting a statewide shortage of school bus drivers, on day 60 of the 2023 Legislative Session, the House of Delegates passed House Bill 2346 to ease the pressure.

The bill allows retired bus operators to work as substitutes in areas of critical need and maintain their pensions and other retirement benefits, provided they continue to qualify as licensed school bus operators

However, anyone who retires and begins work as a substitute bus operator within the same fiscal year in which that person retired shall lose their retirement benefits attributed to the annuity reserve.

The retired bus operators hired as substitutes are considered day-to-day, temporary, part-time employees and not eligible for additional pension or other benefits.

The bill heads to the governor for his signature. All provisions of the bill will expire on June 30, 2028.

Trail Network

House Bill 3147 creates the Upper Ohio Valley Trail Network Recreation Authority.

The bill notes the opportunity to provide trail-oriented recreation facilities primarily on private property in the Potomac Highlands and north central West Virginia. Anticipated potential for the trail network includes increased tourism similar to whitewater rafting, snow skiing, and ATV trail riding.

The bill creates a contiguous trail system that connects to the Elk River Trail, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal TowPath and any other trails in adjacent neighboring states that can be feasibly connected.

The measure provides for a governing body. expenses and protection for private landowners.

This bill also goes to the governor for signature

Senate Moves Dozens of Bills As Session End Looms

With just two days left in the session, the Senate passed dozens of bills Thursday. Many of the bills related to issues of education that legislators have made a priority all session.

House Bill 2346 declares a shortage of qualified bus operators and allows retired bus operators to accept employment without losing their retirement benefits.

Senate Education Committee Chair Sen. Amy Grady, R-Mason, said that an alarmingly large fiscal note that stymied a similar Senate bill from passing had been removed.

“One last important note Mr. President, I’d like to add is that originally, three sessions ago I saw a fiscal note of $999,999,999 and it is now at zero,” Grady said.

During discussion of the bill in committee, Grady – who is a teacher – said she has seen firsthand how the driver shortage is already interrupting students’ education.

The House of Delegates must now approve the Senate’s changes to the bill before it becomes law.

House Bill 2890 modifies student discipline guidelines for schools. The bill was amended twice on the floor to limit the application of new discipline provisions to grades six through 12, and exclude their application to elementary schools.

The new provisions primarily relate to when a student can be excluded from a classroom for behavior that obstructs the teaching or learning process of others. The bill now returns to the House for its approval of the changes.

House Bill 3035, in its original form, was intended to establish the state’s Grow Your Own program to facilitate a career path for high school students to pursue a career in education. However, after extensive amending, the bill no longer contains provisions for Grow Your Own, and is instead the vehicle for several other priority programs.

“This amendment will replace the House of Delegates method of promoting grade level proficiency in English language, arts and mathematics by grade three, which is the Third Grade Success Act that was part of Senate Bill 274, which has already passed the Senate earlier this session,” Grady said. “It would also remove provisions relating to the Grow Your Own program,” Grady said. “The amendment also adds in a modified version of House Bill 3293, which imposes requirements on the state board and local education agencies for addressing learning disabilities, including dyslexia and dyscalculia.”

Senate Bill 274, which had already passed out of the Senate, was similarly and significantly amended by the House Education Committee earlier this week, necessitating the addition of the Third Grade Success Act to House Bill 3035 to ensure it a chance to pass.

The bill is also pending House approval of the Senate’s amendments.

The Senate completed legislative action on House Bill 3224 adds West Virginia Junior College to the list of eligible institutions that can accept PROMISE scholarship recipients.

Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, said the change will help the state address its shortage of nurses.

“West Virginia junior college, they have three campuses around the state and one of the biggest programs that they have is their Registered Nurse program, training nurses at more than 10 locations around the state,” Weld said. “They’ve got an average of 400 students that they do, so I think that this legislation is going to help them build their student enrollment and will help West Virginians who want to become a nurse do so and help us with one of our bigger healthcare crisis that we have in the state.”

After a brief recess just after 1 p.m., the Senate returned to the floor and passed three other education bills.

House Bill 3369 completed legislative action and creates a School Safety Unit within the Division of Protective Services to conduct school safety inspections and make recommendations to county school personnel.

House Bill 3441, which completed legislative action, revises the training requirements for members of the Higher Education Policy Commission, while House Bill 3555 relates to student purchase and refunds of course material and awaits House approval.

Beyond Education

The Senate also passed out House Bill 2814, which would create a Hydrogen power task force to study Hydrogen energy in the state’s economy.

Sen. Randy E. Smith, R – Tucker, chair of the Senate Energy, Industry and Mining Committee, said the task force will look at everything regarding the power source, including sources of potential hydrogen in the state, and recommendations to prepare the state workforce for jobs in the new industry.

“The study will include a review of regulations and legislation needed to guide development of hydrogen energy and an examination of how the state can take advantage of incentives created by the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” he said.

The bill only needs its passage to be received by the House to complete legislative action.
Also passed out of the Senate was House Bill 3189, the PFAS Protection Act, which would identify and address sources of so-called “forever chemicals” to reduce toxic chemicals in drinking water supplies. The House must now approve the Senate’s changes to the bill before it becomes law.

Senate Education Committee Addresses Bus Driver Shortage

The Senate Education Committee took up a bill Thursday aimed at addressing the state’s bus driver shortage.

House Bill 2380 would clear the way for retired bus operators to resume working for their local school district without losing their benefits.

In recent years, a shortage of bus operators across the state has left school systems with no other choice than to cancel routes, interrupting students’ education.

The committee approved a functionally identical bill, Senate Bill 56, in the first days of the session, but that bill has languished in the Senate Finance Committee.

Sen. Mike Oliverio, R-Monongalia, identified a fiscal note of $250,000 attached to the Senate Bill as a potential barrier to passage.

“I think the fiscal note is completely misguided. I can’t see an additional dollar of cost of allowing a retired bus driver who comes back and subs as a bus driver, as opposed to paying somebody who’s not retired,” Oliverio said. “That retired bus driver who comes back and drives an extra 10 days maybe over the 140-day limit, he or she incurs no additional pension benefit for that so there should be no liability to the pension.”

Joe White, executive director of the West Virginia School Service Personnel Association told the committee that he and his staff were also greatly concerned by the fiscal note.

“I can only tell you what was testified in the other chamber’s finance, and that was that the amount on the fiscal note is what they put when they don’t have an answer,” White said.

Committee Chair Sen. Amy Grady, R-Mason, and a teacher, said she has seen the impact of the bus driver firsthand.

“We have these students who have missed 19 days of school this school year, that’s 19 instructional days. That’s not including days they may miss because they’re sick or they have a doctor’s appointment or something else,” Grady said. “So that’s 19 days of school just for not having a bus driver and I know if that happens at my school that happens at all kinds of other schools and I think it’s a huge problem. I would really like to get this fiscal note taken care of.”

Grady concluded by saying there would be further discussion with the Senate Finance Committee to resolve the impasse, and the committee reported the bill to the full Senate with a recommendation it do pass.