The Blaine County School District enters the 2005-2006 school year short on bus driving staff. The crunch isn't likely to affect school bus routes the first day of school Monday, Aug. 29, although the effects will ripple through the school district's transportation system.
"When we don't have a full staff, it is harder for us to take as many field trips as the schools would like. We have to put a limit on the number of things schools can go to in certain days," Rex Squires, Blaine County Schools transportation director, said.
The district typically staffs 24 drivers and maintains a list of additional substitute drivers. As the school year commences, the transportation department lacks four drivers.
"This year we have had some staff turn over we were not expecting. Things that we thought were going to be resolved didn't get resolved early enough in the summer. Now we are having to play catch up," Squires said.
The staffing crunch leaves the office personnel to fill in the driving needs. The pinch-hitting strategy maintains the scheduled routes, with primary effects linked to field trips transportation needs. The situation arises from a larger staff turnover than expected.
"In a normal year the turnover is pretty low," Squires said.
Solving the shortage problem is exacerbated by the nature of the position.
"Its hard to find people who can work on a part-time salary and live in this area," Squires said.
The job requires a split shift with morning and afternoon obligations. The district upped its recruiting efforts to relieve the shortage through advertisements, word of mouth and parked a bus displacing a "Drivers Needed" banner in Hailey.
"We don't expect (the shortage) to be all year, it is just until we can find additional people and get them trained," Squires said.
The training demands approximately two weeks. Requirements include completion of the State Department of Education curriculum, commercial drivers licensing and vehicle practice hours.
Despite the lack of drivers, students taking the bus will see few changes in the bus schedule from last year. Most routes have not changed, but several bus numbers will be different.
More detailed information can be found on the school district's Web site at blaineschools.org; select the transportation link.
The Blaine County School District enters the school year short on bus drivers. Photo by David N. Seelig
