MIDLAND, Texas — As the new school year begins for districts around the Permian Basin, making sure they have enough bus drivers to get students to and from school can be a challenge. That challenge is a little different for every school district, with size playing a factor.
Greenwood ISD and Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD have enough bus drivers, but for some of the drivers, that isn’t their only title.
At Greenwood ISD, the day is not over for those behind the wheel when students are dismissed.
“Last year we had an assistant principal at the middle school that has her CDL, and she was more than willing to jump on a bus and help out," said Brian Cooper, Director of Operations for Greenwood ISD.
Cooper knows that this year that is still the reality.
“Of those 20 drivers, four of them are not school employees," Cooper said. "So, in other words, all they do for us is drive. They’re not a maintenance worker, they’re not a secretary, they’re not a coach, they’re not anything else other than that. So, that’s unique to us, whereas a lot of the bigger districts – they can’t use their teachers and coaches just because they’re too big and they have to drive throughout the day – whereas we’re not doing that.”
While bigger school districts are limited, smaller school districts have the benefit.
“Having coaches, teachers and other staff that are willing to drive a bus -- and have the license to do so – is really invaluable to a school district," said PBTISD Superintendent Brent Jaco.
Jaco says they have them as subs if they need them.
“We have a couple of principals that drive actually, we have teachers that drive, and so we’ll need to pull them because, ultimately, we have to get kids home, and we want to make sure they get home safely and that’s a top priority of ours," Jaco said.
For both school districts, having enough bus drivers doesn’t mean they can take their foot off the gas.
“I can think of three folks that, come May, this is going to be their last year, and so they’re already letting us know ‘hey, this is going to my last year driving,’ so we’re thinking ahead of who is it that we can get in to possibly fill that route or be a sub driver," Cooper said.
“You have to have a CDL, and so we’re challenged by some of those restrictions and competition that we have out there," Jaco said.
Both Midland ISD and Ector County ISD mentioned that they are short on bus drivers. MISD noted that they are not short by much and students still get where they need to go, while ECISD has tried the strategy of calling upon office staff to help accommodate for those shortages.