17 short: Walker County schools dealing with bus driver shortage

Less than a month into the new school year, the Walker County Schools district is dealing with a bus driver shortage that has forced drivers to take on multiple routes a day.

Among them is Polly Pickard, who has worked for the district for 20 years.

For the first 15 years, she drove the same bus route every day. Five years ago, she became a driver trainer and one of the district's four lead drivers in charge of nearly 90 bus drivers.

Now, she is one of nearly 20 drivers on staff that are taking double routes in the morning and afternoon to make up for 17 drivers the district is missing.

There are about 8,600 students in the district. More than two-thirds, or about 7,000, are on the roster for school bus routes. School officials estimate that on average 6,000 kids will ride the bus on any given day.

That puts a lot of pressure on the fleet of bus drivers that, when fully staffed, has 89 drivers for 89 routes.

Being a supervisor for the transportation division, Pickard knows how fragile the system can be.

"Someone can call in sick, so every morning, we're one phone call away from not pulling it off."

The start of the 2019 school year in Walker County has been one grand experiment for the transportation division on how to pull it off.

Mike Hardy is another bus driver. He's driven for the district for 10 years.

Because of the shortage, Hardy is responsible for two routes. He said the school year is off to a chaotic start, but he has figured out a way to be consistent.

"I've never seen anything like it," he said. "It's a big challenge."

But, he said, "safety of the children is the first thing you think about.

"Our kids come first. With two routes, there's a lot to do and it's twice the responsibility," he added.

He said running double routes can hurt driver morale in the long run.

It also hurts parents.

Now that buses are picking kids up 30 minutes earlier and can be off schedule, it has put a strain on parents trying to get to work on time.

"For the most part, they understand," Pickard said. "But you need to remember, we are an industry-based community. Their jobs have an attendance policy, and if they don't comply with it, they could lose their jobs."

Managing the shortage

Kevin Richardson, transportation supervisor for the school district, said his drivers cover 452 square miles, making Walker County one of the largest geographical counties in Georgia.

At the end of the school year in May, Richardson said, five drivers retired.

"At that point, we knew we were going to be in some trouble," he said.

He didn't know that the district's problem would get even worse. But he said complaints from parents have been surprisingly tame.

"You would think we would be getting blown up," he said. "Most parents are very understanding right now. And I say right now. Some parents will call and say, 'My kid used to be home at 4:15, now it's 4:45,' and we try to explain the situation. Most folks are reasonable and understand."

He thought he could make up the driver shortage with summer training classes. But after underwhelming attendance for training and drivers leaving for personal, medical and other reasons over the course of the summer, the issue has only gotten worse.

After the summer training course, Richardson has only one applicant still in the process of being certified.

Richardson and Superintendent Damon Raines understand the complexity of hiring bus drivers. It's a rigorous process that involves several different agencies from the Walker County school board to the Georgia State Board of Education.

Aspiring drivers need 12 minimum hours of classroom training, a minimum of six hours of driving a bus without children and a minimum of six hours driving with children.

That, on top of standard interviews, background checks, driving records, a passenger and school bus endorsement, a commercial driver's license and a number of other certifications, are all necessary in a hiring process that takes at least four weeks to complete.

Richardson said hiring bus drivers has had a consistent and direct correlation to the local economy.

"When the job market is good, we see a decline in our numbers. In the same breath, when things are struggling, we get more applications and more folks in," Richardson said.

Hardy has noticed the same thing in his 10 years.

"The economy has picked up and there are jobs out there that offer more pay with more benefits," he said. "The times are getting better."

Paying a more competitive wage for Walker County drivers also has been discussed, Hardy said, because he's heard nearby counties pay their drivers slightly better.

Richardson said people apply to drive buses for a few reasons. One of the biggest is to take advantage of the district's insurance plan. That's true for both Pickard and Hardy.

For the most part, drivers use the job as a second gig or something to make money in retirement.

"It's hard to support a family solely on driving a bus," Richardson said. "To have this as a sole-income position, they're only getting about 25 to 30 hours a week."

Richardson admitted that not only are his drivers stressed but everyone in the office has been off to an uneasy start this school year.

"The schools are feeling this, too, because we're getting students in later and taking them home later," he said. "It's across the system. When you think about it, these folks and the ones in attendance are the backbone of our school system. Teachers have a hard time teaching if the kids aren't in school."

Richardson said the driver shortage has minimally affected his budget. The district is saving money by not paying out those salaries but is paying drivers more hours for taking multiple routes. The district is paying virtually the same amount for fuel.

He has been able to incentivize drivers who are working more than usual.

Drivers who take on multiple routes and ones that don't call in sick for a certain amount of days are being given stipends, Richardson said.

"We know that it's been such a hardship and burden on them and without them it would be impossible," he said. "If one or two folks call in sick - we're going to be in a mess. This little stipend is our way of recognizing them."

But in the end, Pinkard and Hardy say, they do the work for the kids.

"You fall in love with the kids," Hardy said. "They tell you that when you start, but it really is a very rewarding job."

Contact Patrick Filbin at pfilbin@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476.