Plum Borough School District seeking bus drivers
PLUM, Pa. (KDKA) - Like many school districts, the Plum Borough School District is in serious need of bus drivers.
Even though Plum students have already started a new school year, there aren't enough bus drivers. District leaders said if they can't fill the vacant positions, then day-to-day operations, field trips and extracurricular activities will be impacted.
Glenn Brown is hoping his grandson Aiden will get to enjoy fifth grade and not miss anything because of the bus driver shortage.
"It's going to affect a lot of things I believe; kids have to get school and this home-schooling thing I don't like, and it might boil down to that if they can't get to school -- it's not fair for the kids, it's not fair for the adults either," Brown said.
The district needs to hire seven bus drivers to be fully staffed and five additional drivers to fill in when someone calls off.
Assistant Superintendent and Human Resource Director Denise Sedlacek said in part, "Drivers are critical to our operation to safely transport kids to and from school. Our drivers' smiling faces are the first and last our students see each day. You can make a difference in the lives of our children. Currently, we are using our substitutes, mechanics, and supervisory staff to fill vacant routes each day."
"If I needed a job, I'd be a bus driver," Brown said.
The district has made the position more attractive: they'll provide training and clearances at no cost.
Here's a comment from Ryan Manzer, CFO of Plum School District: "Rates are attractive at $22.60 per hour starting, with eligibility to receive the overtime rate of $33.90 if working over 40 hours per week. Our transportation department will also be flexible to work with anyone's schedule to allow for as little or as much as anyone would like. We have found that many drivers work this job as a second career to earn additional income. If you are interested in this position, please reach out to our Transportation or HR Department and we'll be happy to welcome you to be a part of our team at Plum Borough School District."
Scott Mergen, Plum's Transportation Director, said, "We would like to reiterate that if anyone is interested in becoming a bus driver, we will provide all of the training necessary at no cost. We offer shifts from 2 to 8 hours daily with plenty of opportunities for additional hours driving after-school activity buses or athletic trips. If you are at all interested in the position, please give me a call and I'd be happy to walk you through what an average day in the life of a bus driver is to see if it would be a good match."
"Hopefully with some of things that have been happening lately, they are a little more diligent about who will tow our kids around," Brown said.