School District Offers Free Driving Lessons Amid Driver Shortage

The New Hanover County Schools in North Carolina is offering free commercial driving lessons in an effort to recruit more school bus drivers, reports WECT. The district initially considered having custodial staff and instructional aides also drive buses, but the idea was eventually discarded, and efforts are now targeting parents. “The hours would be the same as the students,” said Ken Nance, transportation director. “They would be on the bus early in the morning and in the afternoon which would go along with the children with their schedule and be off in the summertime, but we do actually if they work for us long enough, they’ll get the same benefits that all the other drivers will get. They’ll either get part time benefits or full time benefits depending on the hours they work for us.”