Buhler schools short four bus drivers, with 55 requested students not yet on a route
Transportation Director Cassi Deister told the board she would like five to eight more licensed drivers and at least two substitutes
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Sign up freeBuhler USD 313 has assigned 934 of the 989 students whose families requested bus service this year, its transportation director told the school board Monday, Sept. 14, as the district runs four drivers short of last year.
Transportation Director Cassi Deister said a new driver who does not already hold a commercial driver's license takes between two and three months to become fully licensed, meaning a hire made now would not be driving a route until roughly November or December. The district's board briefs do not say why the 55 students are unassigned, how many drivers and routes the district has now, what it pays drivers, or what it is doing to recruit.
Deister cited student behavior as a second challenge in her department, describing it as hard to manage while driving. She said cameras on the buses have helped with both student behavior and driver evaluation. The briefs do not say how many buses are camera-equipped.
The briefs, posted Sept. 22, record no board action on the transportation report and give no application contact or pay range for prospective drivers.
The same meeting welcomed Kristen Armstrong to the Board of Education, filling the seat for which the board began interviewing candidates on Aug. 24. Citizen Journal likewise learned of those interviews from district records posted weeks after the fact. The board's next regular meeting is Monday, Oct. 12.
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