School bus driver shortage hits PSD
By Terry Murry on Tuesday, September 28th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News Columbia Basin Top Stories
PENDLETON – The Pendleton School District is facing a school bus driver shortage, as is much of the nation. Superintendent Chris Fritsch says things become really complicated when drivers call in sick.
“We have 24 full time drivers, but the unfortunate thing is right now we have five drivers out for various reasons and we have 25 routes,” he said.
He said there’s no set formula for dealing with a missing driver, because it depends entirely on the route or routs that affects.
“I think our staggered starts have helped us a little bit,” he said of the varied start and stop times at elementary and secondary schools.
Fritsch said the shortage could be due, in part, with the part time, seasonal nature of the job. It’s also a job with a lot of responsibility.
“You’re in charge of 30, 40 kids on a bus and you’re trying to drive the bus and monitor the kids,” he said. In Portland the shortage of drivers is so bad that the district has canceled 13 bus routes. It is offering parents of those impacted $300 a month to find alternative transportation.
