{"id":30549,"date":"2022-09-30T04:23:03","date_gmt":"2022-09-30T04:23:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/?p=30549"},"modified":"2022-09-30T04:23:03","modified_gmt":"2022-09-30T04:23:03","slug":"ripple-effect-of-kentuckianas-bus-driver-shortage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/?p=30549","title":{"rendered":"Ripple effect of Kentuckiana&#8217;s bus driver shortage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>Bus spelled backwards is sub, and in Breckinridge County, they&#8217;re taking substitute bus drivers to a whole different level.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>It\u2019s an extracurricular activity just to make sure school kids get a ride.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>Mike Harned, chief of student services at Breckinridge County Schools, said it\u2019s a complete team effort every day just to get all the routes covered.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>The school district said it has about 35 bus drivers, but it\u2019s not enough.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve made it work, but it is a day-to-day struggle,\u201d Harned said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>And the \u201cstruggle\u201d is widespread.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>FOCUS called several school districts in Kentuckiana, and in Kentucky, only five of 20 districts reported they are fully-staffed with bus drivers.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>Jefferson County Public Schools said it needs to hire 76 drivers to reach what JCPS considers the fully staffed mark of 920 drivers.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_asset\">\n<div class=\"longform__asset longform__asset_type_embed\" data-id=\"27f84757-a27c-49bb-8288-9761a5828548\">\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"JCPS hosts hiring event to bring in more bus drivers\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cxjHLfjjVf0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>In Southern Indiana, its much the same way. Most districts are short, with only Greater Clark County Schools, Crothersville Community Schools in Jackson County and Madison Consolidated Schools in Jefferson County reporting they have a full staff of drivers.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>\u201cReally use about five more, and then I think we would be in a pretty good spot,\u201d Harned said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>Breckinridge County Schools is hiring, and offers a $600 incentive to do so.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>Problem is, so is everyone else.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s so many other jobs out there that everybody seems to be fighting over the same folks,\u201d Harned said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>In the meantime, all hands are on deck.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>Including the superintendent of Breckinridge County Schools.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>Breckinridge County Schools Superintendent Dr. Nick Carter said he\u2019s been driving since the first full week of school.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>He\u2019s been picking the kids up in the morning and then taking them to the middle and high school.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_asset\">\n<div class=\"longform__asset longform__asset_type_embed\" data-id=\"212dcde0-efa0-4400-898a-9d9d19d4f994\">\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"JCPS launches Bus Delay Dashboard for school year\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nDYd6qbcExQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>It\u2019s about a 15 to 20-minute bus ride, where Carter is not only the driver, but he\u2019s also the bus monitor.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>\u201cWe need several bus drivers, it\u2019s not a problem that\u2019s going to go away quickly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>And with a shortage with not many applicants, districts must also plan for retirements.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>\u201cI am concerned that it could get worse, can we continue to replace drivers as they retire?\u201d Carter asked.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>Therefore, Carter is calling on lawmakers to consider adjusting the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/education.ky.gov\/districts\/trans\/pages\/cdl-program.aspx\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rules to fast-track drivers that already have a commercial driver\u2019s license (CDL)<\/a> to become a school bus driver.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>\u201cEven if they\u2019re a retired semi driver, they still have to go through all the training,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>Until something changes, substitutes aren&#8217;t just teachers, they can be superintendents too.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<\/p>\n<div class=\"longform__element longform__element_type_text\">\n<p>\u201cI think it&#8217;s just part of what all of us do in public education, we do whatever needs to be done to help kids, and right now in our district, this is what we need,\u201d Carter said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#013;<br \/>\n                    &#013;\n        <\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whas11.com\/article\/news\/investigations\/focus\/focus-kentuckiana-bus-driver-shortage-county-kentucky-indiana\/417-1a88fad8-9382-49d2-a86a-6eff5c824f8c\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#013; Bus spelled backwards is sub, and in Breckinridge County, they&#8217;re taking substitute bus drivers to a whole different level. &#013; It\u2019s an extracurricular activity just to make sure school kids get a ride. &#013; Mike Harned, chief of student services at Breckinridge County Schools, said it\u2019s a complete team effort every day just to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[45],"tags":[2068,3491,395,11500,265,1470],"class_list":["post-30549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ripple","tag-bus","tag-driver","tag-effect","tag-kentuckianas","tag-ripple","tag-shortage"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/f715e0bb-b24a-4fbb-9f6f-4cee751f68eb_1140x641.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30549"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30551,"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30549\/revisions\/30551"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}