COLORADO SPRINGS — Students are back to school this week, and many schools in El Paso County spent the summer coming up with plans to find solutions for the local school bus driver shortage.
News5's Caroline Peters spoke with District 11 this week about what they’re doing to make sure there are enough bus drivers this school year.
Kevin McCafferty, the district’s operations manager of transportation says they started finding solutions for the national bus driver shortage four years ago. Not only did they hire more people, but the school also consolidated some routes. He says because they’ve been proactive, this is the best shape the school has been in in years.
“We’re sitting here right now with 74 drivers and 66 routes so we got a little bit of leeway there. If all of this 8 leeway that we have gets sick, then, of course, we have people in the office that can drive and that’s our backup,” said McCafferty.
Still, McCafferty says you can never be too stocked up with bus drivers. He says while they have more drivers this year than in previous years, the school could still use some additional drivers.
You can apply on District 11’s website, here.
But what about schools that aren’t in as good of a shape just yet? News5 spoke with District 20.
“We are looking for people who have a passion for students, who have a passion for getting out kids to school in a timely manner and having fun with them along the way,” said Krystal Story, public relations specialist at Academy District 20.
District 20 is offering $2,000 incentives for those who want to apply. They say 17 bus drivers are needed for the school year.
Below are details on the job fair the district is soon holding.
JOB FAIR
Academy District 20
Job Fair on August. 27th
9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Education and Administration Building
1110 Chapel Hills Drive 80920
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