A shortage of school bus drivers has teachers behind the wheel.
The pandemic may be over but the impact of COVID-19 is still being felt in the Mason County School system.
Many teachers are handling not only their teaching duties but are also pitching in as substitute bus drivers.
MCS Transportation Director Jonathan Thomas said many of the bus drivers were ‘seasoned’ (older) and when COVID came along they retired or just stopped driving due to the susceptibility the elderly have for the virus.
According to Thomas, MCS would need seven or eight more bus drivers to take the added workload off the teachers’ shoulders.
“I wouldn’t contribute it all (teachers driving buses) to staff shortage though; teachers have always helped out when needed. When I was a teacher I drove, just not every day,” Thomas said.
Thomas used to be a teacher but for the last year and a half has been working solely as transportation director because he felt it was time for something new and he wanted to be where he was of the most use.
Another contributing factor to the schools being short on bus drivers is even without COVID prompting the older staff, many of them are at retirement age and Thomas said he is likely to see multiple retirements at any time.
The teachers serving dual responsibilities are also dual paid, according to Thomas, and they go through the same training as bus drivers.
Following all state requirements, rules and regulations, the teachers go through the same training as any school bus driver which takes approximately a month and includes 21 hours behind the wheel, according to Thomas.
“A lot of our teachers start out just being substitute drivers and we only called them when we needed them,” he said.
Due to the shortage of drivers now though, Thomas said many teachers are driving and teaching full-time. He said the school staff has always had the attitude of helping out whenever and where ever needed.
According to Thomas, the added responsibility isn’t overly taxing as the bus routes start around 6:30 a.m. and are mostly finished by 7:40 a.m., it’s about the same amount of time in the afternoon.
“It’s not like they are starting at 5 a.m. or anything like that. Most bus routes are about an hour long, some of our teachers have longer routes and some shorter, it just depends on what’s needed,” he said.
Thomas said other than bus drivers, he is also short of bus monitors for the same reasons he’s short of drivers, most of the staff are elderly.
Those interested in a position as a bus driver or bus monitor should call Mason County Schools at 606-564-6518 and ask for Jonathan Thomas.
