Henrico Schools offering new hiring bonuses for bus drivers

In an effort to alleviate the growing school bus driver shortage, Henrico County Public Schools began offering new hiring bonuses Thursday.

In early June, the school division had 85 vacancies, which was the largest school bus driver shortage in more than a decade.

Now in August, there are more than 100 vacancies.

The new hiring bonuses will award $1,000 to new drivers with no experience, a $2,000 bonus to new drivers who already have a CDL license, and a $3,000 bonus to those who already have S & P endorsements (which allow drivers to drive school buses and passenger vehicles, respectively).

School divisions across the region and the nation are facing bus driver shortages and scrambling to find creative ways to fill vacancies. In Chesterfield County, Superintendent Merv Daugherty urged parents to drive their children to school because of a lack of bus drivers.

At a Henrico School Board meeting Thursday, HCPS Transportation director Jim Ellis said that although there are more than 100 vacancies, there are about 45 applicants in the pipeline.

At a rate of $14.90 an hour for drivers with no experience, HCPS is one of the lowest paying school divisions in the region for bus drivers, according to WTVR. Neighboring Powhatan County pays $18.45 an hour and Chesterfield pays $17.21 an hour.

Before the onset of COVID-19, HCPS usually had about 50 vacancies for bus drivers. Tight staffing means that bus drivers occasionally have to double up on routes, taking one load of students after another. This can delay students from getting to school on time or keep children at school longer.

Bus drivers, along with other HCPS employees, recently received a two-step pay increase.

In May, the district received 40 new school buses with air conditioning. In December, 49 more should arrive, which will make about one-fifth of the district’s fleet of buses equipped with air conditioning. All buses have heat.

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Anna Bryson is the Henrico Citizen's education reporter and a Report for America corps member. Make a tax-deductible donation to support her work, and RFA will match it dollar for dollar.