HISD hopes for big haul at bus driver fair
$2,000 sign-on stipend offered to attract candidates
Tiarra McCole loves driving big vehicles.
Sitting up high. Feeling in control. The wheel beneath her fingertips.
Add in working with kids and you’ve found the 37-yearold’s dream job.
That’s why she was all smiles during her interview Saturday to be a Houston Independent School District bus driver.
“I thought I could do both things I’m interested in,” McCole, who lives in the Richmond area, said.
McCole was one of dozens of bus driver applicants filtering in and out of Houston ISD’s Northwest Motor Pool on Saturday, hoping to walk out with a job set to start in August.
The goal was to hire 50 new bus drivers by Saturday afternoon, adding to a team of about 800 that serves the state’s largest school district, said Javon May, a recruiter for HISD’s business operations.
“We’re always looking for drivers,” May said.
School districts nationwide are struggling with bus driver shortages. A survey published last year found that 65 percent of the 1,500 districts who responded said that a driver shortage is their “No. 1 problem or concern.”
That survey — conducted by The National Association for Pupil Transportation, the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, and the National School Transportation Association — found that 50 percent of districts said pay was a major factor in their ability to recruit.
At Houston ISD, bus drivers are paid $18 an hour and the first 120 people with a commercial driver’s license who are hired and start working before Aug. 22 will receive a $2,000 sign-on stipend.
“HISD has so much competition — there are a lot of school districts and other companies who need drivers with (commercial driver’s licenses),” May said. He gave the examples of Amazon and grocery stores, who can often pay more and provide larger signing bonuses.
But “we hope to attract candidates who like to work with kids,” he said.
McCole is one of those people. She’s worked with children in group homes and foster care, as well as kids with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
She’s also driven an 18-wheeler from state-to-state alongside her sister.
“I’m here to try to make a difference,” McCole said of applying for a bus driver role.
Also waiting for an interview was Dennis Washington, a 65year-old Humble resident.
He used to drive a plumbing truck, but the pay and the ability to work with kids enticed him to apply Saturday for a bus driving job.
His wife of 10 years, Marleen Godfrey, came to the job fair with him, sitting quietly in the waiting room while he was being interviewed.
Godfrey, 72, is ready for the couple to be an HISD family. This past week, she said, she got a job at a district middle school teaching special education children.
“I just love working with kids and teaching them about life,” she said.
May said the district plans to hold another bus driver job fair in two weeks at Jack Yates High School.
Interested applicants must be 18 and have a high school diploma and a driver’s license. They must also pass a background investigation and drug screening.
Individuals who do not have a commercial driver’s license will be trained.