Bus driver shortages are impacting schools throughout Central Florida, with some offering hiring bonuses to attract new drivers.
In Orange County, 100 bus drivers are still needed. In some cases, drivers are doubling up on bus routes. To alleviate the shortage, the district is offering bonuses up to $16,000 over the next two years.
Stetson University education professor Rajni Shankar-Brown said Volusia County where she teaches also has a shortage of bus drivers.
She said these shortages driven by COVID retirements, low pay and poor work conditions, hurt Black, brown and low-income families the most.
“Many times low-income families do not have alternative transportation options or the privilege of being able to leave a job and just go and pick up their kid,” said Shankar-Brown.
She said not having access to a reliable school bus can make chronic absenteeism worse which, “can lead to academic setbacks and even increase dropout rates out of school.”
Jude Bruno, the President-Elect of the Florida PTA agrees, but said without higher wages for bus drivers, schools will continue to have these problems.
“They often may leave into a higher paying job with either the county or city government after the school district has trained them. So until we address the pay issues, we're always going to have this concern,” said Bruno.
Along with a shortage of bus drivers, the Florida Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, said there are almost 10,000 teacher and support staff vacancies throughout the state at the start of the school year.
A shortage of substitute teachers in Florida schools is also expected this year, according to Kelly Services, one of the country’s largest staffing agencies.
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