Durham redistricting plan more than doubles school bus driver shortage

“Legacy students,” who will be in fourth and fifth grade then, will be allowed to stay at their school when the district’s “Growing Together” plan takes effect in the 2024-25 school year. Siblings can also request to stay until the older child moves on.

The redistricting means the district’s bus driver vacancy issue will get worse before it gets better.

“As we do this implementation phasing, and we want to keep some of our legacy students at current schools, we will need an increase in bus drivers,” said Durham Public Schools Board Chair Bettina Umstead.

Durham Public Schools currently covers 28,000 miles, running 188 bus routes.

While the district currently has 43 vacancies for drivers, Umstead said it would have 85 vacancies when the “Growing Together” plan takes effect. She said it means the district would have between 150-200 total positions available.

“[The] ‘24-’25 [school year] is when we know we'll need more drivers,” Umstead said. “Many of our schools start in July, [including] some of our year-round calendars as well as our specialty schools, so, we'll need those folks starting in May or June."

With the redistricting, the school district bus drivers will have to cover 46,000 miles and the number of bus routes increases to 230.

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Umstead said the district is looking at the possibility of implementing recruiting initiatives for school bus drivers.

“The district will pay for you to get your [commercial driver’s license] and make sure we walk you through that process,” Umstead said. “We've also been playing with, what does it look like to have recruitment bonuses, [and] also have referral bonuses?"

“Currently, DPS has one of the highest rates for bus drivers,” said DPS Executive Director of Talent Acquisition Michelle Hayes. “We start at $18.13 an hour.”

Umstead said DPS school bus drivers are among the highest paid in central North Carolina.

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Also, Hayes said the district has added a referral program.

“We have a $3,000 signing bonus if they come in with their [commercial driver’s license] and P&S endorsement, which is passenger and school bus driver,” Hayes said.

To operate a school bus in North Carolina, a person must be at least 18 years old, have at least six months of driving experience, have a School Bus Driver's Certificate and hold a commercial driver’s license with both "S" (school bus) and "P" (passenger) endorsements.

Umstead also said the district is looking at whether it can do some shared or substitute routes.

“If someone's like, ‘I don't know if I can commit full time, but I would be interested on days when I have availability,’ hey, come on over,” Umstead said. “Sign up to be a substitute bus driver, and we can put you on the route when the time is available."

Umstead also urged parents who signed up to have their child ride the bus but later realized carpool works better to let the district know.