NORTH RIDGEVILLE, Ohio — It may be a new school year, but districts in Northeast Ohio are still dealing with old problems -- specifically, the bus driver shortage.
Parents at the North Ridgeville City School District are complaining about the inconveniences it's going to cause them once school starts Wednesday.
"So, in a perfect world, we'd be able to bus everyone here," said Matt Yunker, the district's director of operations. "Obviously, that's not the case, and so there are families that have to figure out whether or not their students are going to walk, whether or not they're going to be transported by vehicle to school."
He explained that the district is down seven bus drivers. They have 45 bus drivers, but only 38 drivers at this time.
Last year, the district expanded its radius of bus ineligibility from 1 1/2 miles to 2 miles, meaning anyone within a 2-mile radius of their school cannot take the bus.
Yunker said unfortunately the radius expansion added 700 or so kids to the bus ineligibility list, and he's empathetic to those families.
"It's not something that we're doing as a punishment per se," he said. "It's not the district trying to put resources elsewhere. It is purely a matter of we don't have the bodies to put in buses to transport kids to and from school right now. So honestly, being patient is what we're asking. We know there's going be delays getting kids to school, we know there's going to be delays getting kids home from school. We're just hopeful that our parents can understand that we're working through this the best we can and hoping that we get more drivers to help alleviate this problem.”
Yunker explained that some drivers are having to double up on routes.
“What that means is drivers will be going out and picking kids up early in the morning, bringing them to school, going back out and doing their normal run, picking up kids, bringing them back," Yunker said. "On the flip side, in the afternoon, kids will be waiting in the cafeteria while a bus driver does their run. They'll come back, pick those kids up, and take them home. So, it's just a domino effect that's going to cause delays and when kids get home or prolong how long kids are on buses. And it's just our unfortunate reality right now.”
Starting drivers for the district make $19 per hour, as Yunker and other district leaders are figuring out how to end the driver shortage.
"The million-dollar question we face every day is, how do we get more bus drivers here? And we constantly evaluate what that looks like. I mean, obviously, there's a financial piece to it and how much you can pay bus drivers, but we've looked at other ways. Like the guaranteed minimum of six hours, even if they only run a four-hour route, for example, they're going to get paid for six hours, which guarantees that they will get benefits."
For those interested in applying for a bus driver job, applications can be found on the district's website.
Yunker shared that the district does offer a before and after school care program for students to help parents out. Cost varies depending on the specific needs of your family.