Butler Area School District facing bus driver shortage
Just days before school starts, Butler Area School District is facing a bus driver shortage.
Superintendent Brian White sent out a letter Friday, Aug. 22, to Butler parents saying the district has lost 13 bus drivers in the past 10 days due to financial incentives from other schools.
White said in his letter “another regional school district” offered large signing bonuses for bus drivers, and that Butler “is not in a financial position to match those incentives.”
“Prior to this, we were in a stronger position than in recent years. However, this sudden change has placed us in a difficult situation and we are now taking a number of steps to continue meeting transportation needs of our students,” White said in the letter.
The news comes as new bus drivers for Seneca Valley School District are being offered sign-on bonuses of $4,000 to $7,500, according to job postings.
Seneca Valley recently signed on to a $70 million transportation contract with First Student, a multi-state school transportation company operating at over 500 districts in the U.S. and Canada. According to it’s website, First Student provides transportation to about 5.5 million students daily, serving over 19,000 schools.
White said one of the steps being taken to make sure the district can meet its transportation needs may include implementing a tiered dismissal for the senior high school. The district is considering additional bus runs for senior high school students who have a ninth period study hall, allowing the school to transport students “in waves,” easing demand on vehicles and drivers.
The district currently has nine drivers in training and is hoping to get more.
“Our transportation department will be working throughout the weekend to try and cover all our runs, create van runs and consolidate bus routes where possible,” White said.
The Butler district has around 6,000 total students.
White told the Butler Eagle he appreciates people working this weekend to make sure the district has a plan, as well as drivers who are picking up extra routes and runs.
“I think we’re all frustrated, but we will continue to work on it,” White said.
