One year ago, Greenville County students missed an average of 20,800
hours of class time every day because their school buses were late.
Greenville County Schools Superintendent Burke Royster proposed a pay increase to fix the unprecedented bus driver shortage causing that lateness.
A year later, the district says it's working.
Last week, students lost 6,900 hours a day.
“Which still is not where we want to be, but much better than last year," said Greenville County Schools Transportation Director Norm Seidel.
Seidel said in 2014 Greenville County Schools' drivers were hitting the brakes on their stressful school bus careers and leaving for better-paying employers.
“To me, a school bus is a classroom on wheels,” said Seidel. “Driving and handling kids makes it the toughest job in the school system as far as I'm concerned."
At one point in 2014, the district was short 65 drivers.
So it bumped up starting pay from $11.68 an hour to $12.80.
Now the district has every route filled. It's hired 129 new drivers.
If your child's school bus is still late, Seidel said it's probably because of a broken down bus. The district averages 15-20 broken down buses every day.
“Well, you know, it is the oldest school bus fleet in the nation," said Seidel.
Greenville County mom Aerin Brownlee said she'd rather brave the car pool line than have her middle school-age son take the bus -- but it's not just about missing class time.
“He was originally going to take the bus and then we found out that it wouldn't drop him off until after 5 p.m. and school gets out at 3:15. So I didn't want him sitting on the bus that long," said Brownlee.
The school district said it's still short on substitute bus drivers who fill in when a regular driver is out. The district holds job fairs and training classes every month to try to fill those spots.
The state requires a three-year driving record check on applicants before they can drive your child's school bus. They also have to get 20 hours of training in the classroom and 10 hours of training on the road. The state requires drivers to pass a physical exam and nine different tests, including a highway sign test and a vehicle inspection test.
Greenville County Schools Superintendent Burke Royster proposed a pay increase to fix the unprecedented bus driver shortage causing that lateness.
A year later, the district says it's working.
Last week, students lost 6,900 hours a day.
“Which still is not where we want to be, but much better than last year," said Greenville County Schools Transportation Director Norm Seidel.
Seidel said in 2014 Greenville County Schools' drivers were hitting the brakes on their stressful school bus careers and leaving for better-paying employers.
“To me, a school bus is a classroom on wheels,” said Seidel. “Driving and handling kids makes it the toughest job in the school system as far as I'm concerned."
At one point in 2014, the district was short 65 drivers.
So it bumped up starting pay from $11.68 an hour to $12.80.
Now the district has every route filled. It's hired 129 new drivers.
If your child's school bus is still late, Seidel said it's probably because of a broken down bus. The district averages 15-20 broken down buses every day.
“Well, you know, it is the oldest school bus fleet in the nation," said Seidel.
Greenville County mom Aerin Brownlee said she'd rather brave the car pool line than have her middle school-age son take the bus -- but it's not just about missing class time.
“He was originally going to take the bus and then we found out that it wouldn't drop him off until after 5 p.m. and school gets out at 3:15. So I didn't want him sitting on the bus that long," said Brownlee.
The school district said it's still short on substitute bus drivers who fill in when a regular driver is out. The district holds job fairs and training classes every month to try to fill those spots.
The state requires a three-year driving record check on applicants before they can drive your child's school bus. They also have to get 20 hours of training in the classroom and 10 hours of training on the road. The state requires drivers to pass a physical exam and nine different tests, including a highway sign test and a vehicle inspection test.
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