Upper Darby School District ramps up recruitment efforts amid nationwide school bus driver shortage
UPPER DARBY, Pa. (CBS) — The Upper Darby School District is working to hire more staff amid a nationwide shortage of school bus drivers.
The district has 80 school bus drivers on staff but needs 15 to 20 more. The clock is ticking, with the first day of school coming up on Monday, Aug. 26.
John-Paul Loggia, transportation supervisor for the Upper Darby School District, said the district is working hard on recruitment.
"We have daily open houses for hiring that we post on social media," Loggia said. "We have flyers out. We have incentives that we put in for our drivers, attendance incentives and things of that nature. We do all of our training in-house here."
About 5,000 students rely on the Upper Darby School District for transportation.
The school district is hosting a job fair on Aug. 12 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. in hopes of hiring more bus drivers, paraprofessionals and support staff. The address of the job fair is 8201 Lansdowne Ave. Upper Darby, Pennsylvania,19082.
Lulu Thomas is one of the school district's newest bus drivers. She joined the district in October 2023 and recently earned her CDL license.
"It was a challenge," Thomas said. "I had to take four exams, then I actually got with a trainer and they guided me through it."
Stephen Bryson is among those training Thomas. On Thursday, he showed her the protocols for inspecting a school bus before student pickup.
"I've always enjoyed training," Bryson said. "I've been a trainer in my previous jobs. I've always enjoyed helping others learn the position that they need to fulfill the job."
