Schools cope with shortage of bus drivers

Officials hope recruiting and raises will help close the gap

If a driver for a particular route calls in sick, the department has to scramble to find someone to cover it, which could contribute to the buses’ late arrivals at bus stops or schools, he said.

But, he said, ‘‘For the most part, every route is covered every day. There’s no critical shortage.”

Still, the school system could use 40 more drivers to cover its 1,150 bus routes. To fill those jobs, the school system recruits and advertises, especially to those with English as a second language, Matthews said.

Montgomery’s 1,400 school bus drivers earn $14.27 per hour. In July, that pay will increase to $16.20 per hour, as part of a labor agreement reached in February. Under the deal, drivers will receive pay raises of 4.8 percent, 5 percent and 5.3 percent over the next three years. The contract also provides extra pay for the time between afternoon shifts and activity runs, such as field trips and afterschool programs.

School board officials last week were worried that County Executive Isiah Leggett’s proposed $4.1 billion operating budget — in which the schools budget request was cut by $20 million — would threaten pay raises for school staffers, including bus drivers.

This week, the bus drivers union said it still plans to move forward with the deal.

‘‘Traditionally, these are difficult jobs to fill because of the split-shift nature of the work,” said Sean Carr, a spokesman for the Services Employees International Union Local 500, which represents the drivers as well as other schools service employees. ‘‘It’s very difficult being responsible for the lives of these children every single day.”

Not as many people are attracted to the job because of the early mornings, he added.

While there are no shortages on a particular route, some parents have complained that the bus comes late or not at all.

‘‘Occasionally, I get a call, but we don’t have a widespread problem,” Matthews said.

But Jason Brodsky said there has been a longstanding problem on his daughter’s route.

‘‘No one has confidence that the bus will come,” said Brodsky, whose daughter attends DuFief Elementary School in Gaithersburg. ‘‘It’s been a problem since the beginning of the school year.”

Brodsky said he twice contacted Rosemary Fox, transportation supervisor for the Wootton cluster, responsible for providing busing in Brodsky’s neighborhood. Fox confirmed a shortage of bus drivers but said the problem has been fixed.

The last severe driver shortage was about 10 years ago when the transportation department ratcheted up recruitment efforts and established a four-week training program to get drivers behind the wheel quickly, Matthews said.

The school system recruits drivers from all over the region, including West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Prince George’s County.

Prince George’s schools have a similar driver shortage, but transportation officials there said they have had no complaints.

‘‘Recruitment is always at the forefront,” said Michael Dodson, transportation director for the Prince George’s school system. ‘‘It’s the type of job that people get, and then they leave for another job.”

The 1,200 drivers in Prince George’s earn $15.42 per hour, Dodson said. His department recruits only drivers who live in Maryland.

While Montgomery is always looking for drivers, Matthews acknowledged it is hard to find and retain good drivers.

‘‘It’s a challenge to keep people,” he said. ‘‘It’s a very tough economic time, and challenging to find bus operators in Montgomery County, where people aren’t necessarily looking for this kind of job.”

Want a job?

Interested in driving a school bus? Call Rose Wolford, employment coordinator for the department of transportation, at 301-548-4999.