Tennessee school bus driver shortage8/1/2023 ![]() It’s unclear whether a new formula will mean more money for Nashville schools. MNPS school officials say the issue ties back to more state funding. MNPS has also offered attendance and referral bonuses to drivers, but Warfield says the only way to improve retention is by offering a substantial raise across the board. Last year, the mayor did allocate extra funding for a 2% cost-of-living adjustment and step increases. A pay study for all support staff positions is also underway but it’s unclear whether that report will be finished by the city’s budget season. In Nashville, the school district plans to ask for increased funding for support staff salaries in the upcoming city budget. The issue of transportation is expected to be addressed in the state proposal but education officials say, it’s ultimately up to local districts to decide how to meet the needs of their support staff.īrian Blackley, the spokesperson for the state education department, tells WPLN News that officials are working on separate plans to help alleviate the staffing crunch, including a transportation survey to learn more about each district’s situation and identify potential solutions. Any new funding formula should also increase the amount of funding we issue for transporting our children.” “With a new funding formula being discussed, it’s imperative that we not only support our bus drivers physically but also financially. “We are leaving our bus drivers in the shadows,” says school board member John Little, who’s been organizing with drivers for better support. Bill Lee said state legislators may see a detailed outline by the end of next week. A final proposal is still in the works, but on Thursday, Gov. All of this is happening while education officials are considering how to better serve schools through a new-and-improved funding formula. School systems across Tennessee are feeling the brunt of bus driver shortages. The district was able to hire seven drivers, but still need 72 to cover all routes. This school year so far, Metro Nashville Public Schools has lost 34 drivers, including 22 who resigned, 10 who retired and two who passed away, according to school officials. He says the past few years have been the toughest points of his career, and it’s only getting worse. Warfield has driven Nashville students for three decades. ![]() “They don’t put enough emphasis for anybody outside the classroom,” he adds. This year, the state doesn’t anticipate needing any extra help.As a school bus driver, Eric Warfield has always felt like an afterthought to education leaders. ![]() ![]() The same transportation vendor that trained soldiers last year has hired recruiters to find more long-term drivers. In Massachusetts, where the National Guard was called in last school year to help drive children to school, things have improved. Instead, Anchorage went to a rotating bus route suspension schedule, leaving some families on their own for transportation for six weeks at a time. In Anchorage, Alaska, school officials considered asking the National Guard to help with bussing children, but the idea was quickly squashed. While some school districts are offering incentives, others are having to reduce school bus routes, change school start times, create new walking zones for students, and pay families to cover transportation. Drivers are also getting paid training and guaranteed full-time hours. In other Tennessee school districts, and many other locations across the country, pay for school drivers is now around $20 an hour. In Nashville, Tennessee, they raised pay by $5 an hour. Sign-on bonuses, increased pay, and new recruitment strategies have paid off in some cities. Los Angeles, California, is paying drivers $5,000, and near Sacramento, school bus drivers can earn up to $10,000 if they stay on with the district for 18 months. Near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the bonus is $4,000. In Houston, Texas, officials are offering a $2,000 sign-on bonus. Monetary incentives have become the new normal in an effort to recruit school bus drivers. Many school districts are dealing with a second year of school bus driver shortages, while some areas have seen improvements in hiring.
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