The mid-point of National School Bus Safety Week is also the day chosen to honor Kansas school bus drivers.
Kansas Gov. Sam BownbackGov. Sam Brownback proclaimed Wednesday, Oct. 21 as School Bus Driver Appreciation Day. National School Bus Safety Week, meanwhile, runs from Oct. 19 through Oct. 23.
Keith Dreiling, director of the Kansas State Department of Education’s Bus Safety Unit, said there are 4,246 school bus drivers with CDLs in Kansas.
“Bus drivers are extremely valuable assets,” he added. “They are unsung heroes in the communities across the state. I hope everyone will thank these men and women for their time and talent in making sure our students are transported to and from school and activities safely.”
But, Dreiling pointed out, Kansas like many states is experiencing a bus driver shortage. In answering an annual survey of state directors, he told STN earlier this month that “hiring school bus drivers” remained the biggest challenge to student transportation operations across the state.
The majority of other states that had responded to the survey also indicated the driver shortage was among the biggest issues — if not the top challenge — affecting transportation departments.
One of the newer Kansas drivers is Alicia Garcia, who obtained her CDL over the summer and is now driving for Fort Larned Unified School District 495, about two hours northwest of Wichita. Local parent Jennifer Forbes wrote an email to Transportation Director Richard Fairchild expressing her appreciation of the job Garcia does each day.
“She is the first face that my children see when they head off to school, and she always greets them with a big smile,” Forbes explained. “I believe she truly loves and cares about my own two preschoolers, and I’m sure all other preschoolers on her bus, too.”
The Kansas State School Bus Safety Unit added that Garcia drives more than 50 miles each day.
“It’s a very rewarding job,” Garcia added.
Meanwhile, Fairchild said that it is drivers like Garcia who help contribute to the safety of Kansas’ children.
“Patience is important,” he said. “If the drivers were in it for the money, they are in the wrong career field. There is a lot more at stake than just income. The goal is the safety of our children. We don’t get a second opportunity to do it. It has to be right the first time.”
