Local school districts experiencing bus driver shortages

Some local school districts are experiencing a shortage of school bus drivers, affecting services provided to students – mainly for extracurricular activities.

Yuba City Unified School District is short five school bus drivers and Marysville Joint Unified School District is short seven drivers.

Marysville Joint Unified School District currently employs 53 bus drivers, seven short of the total needed to be fully staffed according to Superintendent Gary Cena. The district has been short on bus drivers since the beginning of the school year, due to health issues suffered by a number of drivers all around the same time.

Cena described the reason for the shortage as a “perfect storm.” The district is aware of the problem and Cena said the district’s transportation department has kept in contact with parents who have reached out to the district voicing their concerns.

The district has not shut down any bus routes because of the shortage, but Cena said the plan is to open up three new routes once eight more drivers are hired. The additional routes would enable the district to spread out the number of students per bus.

The routes cannot be opened immediately because the district must cover the needs of field trips and sports teams, both of

which are being subcontracted out by the district at this time.

On a weekly basis, 76 busses are used to service the schools in the Marysville district. Because of the shortage, busses are being filled to their maximum capacities while adhering to safety regulations, Cena said.

The district is in the process of filling the vacancies and hopes to be fully staffed “as soon as possible.” Cena said 12 people are currently enrolled in classes to become bus drivers.

Driver training includes three-hour-a-day classes for two weeks. Those interested in becoming a bus driver can sign up for free by contacting the transportation

department.

“We are looking for people who care about kids and are interested in driving,” Cena said.

Robert Shemwell, deputy superintendent of business services for Yuba City Unified School District, said the number of drivers fluctuates due to drivers leaving for personal reasons and some who “just move on.”

“Five is a difficult number

to deal with,” Shemwell said.

The result of the current shortage is that the district is focusing its resources on home-toschool transportation, what Shemwell referred to as the district’s “core services.” That means a limit on the number of field trips schools can take and planning further in advance for field trips that are approved.