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Henrico school bus drivers are no longer driving triple routes, a small victory in the feat to transport students to school on time amidst a national bus driver shortage.
“While some challenges prevail, I am pleased to report that we have made progress,” said Lenny Pritchard, chief operations officer of Henrico County Public Schools. “We're grateful for everybody's understanding as we continue to make progress toward ensuring an on-time, effective and efficient transportation system.”
HCPS submitted a grant application to the Virginia Department of Education for $100,000. If awarded, the funds would be used to help with recruiting and retaining transportation employees.
Slowly but surely, recruitment efforts have been fruitful, Pritchard said at the Henrico School Board work session on Thursday.
By the numbers:
- 98 vacancies, compared to 104-105 three months ago
- 13 (net) additional drivers in October (16 hired, but three lost)
- Seven new substitute drivers in October
- Four (net) additional drivers in November (six hired, two lost)
- Nine candidates currently in training
- 28 candidates in the pipeline
School division officials will host another “Drive the Bus” event Saturday, Dec. 11 at Richmond Raceway. The transportation department has hosted more than a dozen bus driver job fairs and events in an effort to recruit drivers.
In August, new hiring bonuses were announced that 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).
As other Virginia school divisions raised pay in order to compete with other localities for drivers, HCPS announced in September a 15% pay increase for its lowest-paid drivers.
