RAVENNA, Ohio — Ravenna families are complaining of kids missing school because of transportation issues directly tied to the nationwide bus driver shortage.
"They can't find [any] drivers, and you know, I don't really believe it's their fault," said Polly Kinter, a Ravenna grandmother who says she now has to take her 6-year-old granddaughter to school each day because of canceled bus routes.
"On the first day of school they just never showed up to get her," Kinter further explained. "No bus ever came when they told her they would."
Kinter says her granddaughter has already missed about three to four days of school because of problems with transportation.
"Nobody's more frustrated than I am," Ravenna School District Superintendent Dr. Laura Hebert told 3News Monday. "Nobody wants to cancel a bus route or pick up a kid late. We want our bus routes running just as well as they were last year before we faced this bus driver shortage."
According to Herbert, the district started the year down three bus drivers. She says transportation leaders have tried to combine bus routes and change pickup and drop off times, but when those don't work, they're forced to cancel routes.
If students miss school because of a canceled route, it's an excused absence.
"Nobody wants a kid to be absent," Hebert added. "We want our kids in the building. Our test scores went up a great deal this year. We've had a lot of progress academically, and the last thing I want to do is impact the progress and momentum we have academically because of a transportation issue."
The district is actively recruiting bus drivers with Hebert saying three people are in the middle of the hiring process. Those were approved by the school board during Monday's meeting.
The hiring, training, and approval process for new bus drivers takes about a month to complete in the district. Hebert is hoping they will have every bus route covered by the first week of October.
"We'll still continue to recruit because we need substitutes," she said. "We still need people to cover when somebody calls in sick."
To Hebert, the impact of the bus driver shortage is communicating a valuable lesson to the community.
"I think the message is that a bus driver is every bit as important to a student's academic, social, emotional, behavioral growth as any teacher, any staff member in the district."
Pay for school bus drivers within the Ravenna School District ranges from $17.19 to $23.33 an hour, depending on experience. Those interested in applying can find more information here.
