With summer winding down and schools preparing to resume the academic year, districts across the country are hiring.
District 51 in Grand Junction, Colorado, uses Student Transportation of America for all its busing and a range of people apply to drive those school buses, from young moms to retirees. Thousands of kids load onto school buses each year.
Depending on enrollment, the drivers are responsible for getting about 6,000 students off to class. STA said it’s not just up to the bus drivers to make the ride safe.
“We want to make sure that we have the most qualified driver in the seat,” said Darrah Barnes, assistant manager of STA.
The job requires two weeks of permit driving before you can get a CDL or commercial driver’s license. Bus drivers have to hit the books also, with a classroom training portion. That training includes learning how to complete a vehicle inspection and backing up, which can be a challenge in those large yellow buses. Drivers also learn about railroad crossing and student stop procedures, along with other safety measures.
The Driver Training Course includes 15 instructional videos with study guides. Newly hired drivers must also complete a minimum 35 hours of training and experienced drivers are required to complete a minimum of 10 hours, according to the STA website.
Each driver is also required to attend the annual mandatory driver training administered at the state level. Drivers also have to receive medical certifications, along with extensive background checks by the CBI and FBI.
“We help you obtain that [CDL] because it’s a necessary part of the job,” Barnes said. “We provide all the training to not only get the CDL, but everything they need to be a totally qualified competent and safe school bus driver to transport our children. We have ongoing training with monthly safety meetings throughout the year. Safety is the number one priority with STA in this area and across the nation. We want well trained well qualified people to be transporting our students because they are our future.”
The Kansas Highway Patrol is busy making sure students travel to class safely with troopers inspecting roughly 300 school buses to make sure every school bus is in good working order and make sure the buses can load, transport and unload children safely. The features troopers inspect are: lights, emergency exits, tires and windshield wipers. The law also requires school buses to be equipped with fire extinguishers, first aid kits and emergency spill kits. “The school bus safety inspections are important because they are transporting our children,” said Trooper Candice Breshears of the KHP. “Our children are our future and with these inspections we can ensure they are as safe as possible while they are traveling to and from school.” If a safety feature is not working properly Breshears says that vehicle is usually repaired immediately on site and re-inspected.
New Hampshire jurors started deliberations for the case of the ex-bus driver who stands accused of being on her phone before crashing with children on the school bus. The crash happened in February 2015, which left three children injured, including one who suffered from a broken jaw. The driver, Stephanie Boyd, originally said she missed a turn in the road; however, she later admitted to police she was downloading an app on her phone. The next thing she knew, the bus had gone off the road and into a tree. The big question for jurors is whether school bus drivers should be held to higher standard.
A former Utah bus driver was sentenced to 20 days in jail for driving drunk while transporting special-needs students earlier this year. Sherry Lee Lund, 52, was charged with one count of driving under the influence and five counts of reckless endangerment. She pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and two counts of reckless endangerment. The other three counts of reckless endangerment were dismissed. Judge James Brady ordered the jail time as part of an 18-month probation. Lund must also pay a $1,950 fine and install an ignition interlock system on her vehicle. Lund was arrested after police found the school bus parked on the side of the road, officers observing “the driver was impaired [and] smelled of alcohol,” said a city spokesperson, who added that testing showed Lund had a blood-alcohol level of 0.17, more than twice the legal limit. There were four elementary school children and a teacher’s aide on the bus. Lund had worked as a bus driver for the district for 27 years. She was placed on administrative leave and later resigned.
