And you'll be like, okay, it was worth putting up with them for this long," he laughed.īoth Richmond and Chesterfield school leaders note while they are only short 10 drivers right now, that number could change before the start of the school year, as some drivers decide not to return closer to the first day of school. "And it makes it encouraging at the end of the year when the parents appreciate you, they bring you gifts and stuff like that. "If you come in with the right attitude, and you come in and you care about the kids, generally speaking, you get a pretty good result," Johnson explained. He encourages anyone who wants to help children to consider becoming a bus driver. I know Richmond's not going to be happy with me working less hours, but I'm planning on working less hours and making more better money."Īt 67 years old, Johnson said he needs to slow down, but he's grateful to still be able to make an impact on young Richmonders' lives. The extra money is going to come in handy. "Before I had to work a lot of overtime," said Johnson. "You hear people come here all the time, and they're complaining because they don't make enough with the hours to be able to cover themselves their expenses easily," said William Johnson, a veteran RPS driver.īut he said his district's recent raise has changed his life. Henrico is offering $17.60 per hour, and Hanover’s bus driver pay is the lowest in the area at $15.75 an hour. Richmond is leading the way with pay in Central Virginia, while Chesterfield comes in right behind them at $20.21 an hour. "We took that opportunity to do what we had to do to make sure that our children have drivers behind the steering wheel, and meeting our needs for our students and our teachers, our principals, and most of all administration and school board," Miles noted. WTVR Floyd Miles, Richmond Public Schools Director of Transportation Miles said his district's decision to bump pay from $17 per hour to $21 to $23 an hour and offer $3,500 sign-on bonuses is the reason he's seeing half the number of vacancies he saw last school year. "What makes the difference is the salary," explained RPS Director of Transportation Floyd Miles. Some school leaders point to pay as the reason some districts are doing better than others when it comes to driver staffing. Meanwhile, Hanover County tells CBS 6 they have 51 driver openings, and Henrico County is seeing the most need with 91 drivers needed before the start of the school year. Right now, Chesterfield County Public Schools said they have about 10 open positions for drivers, and Richmond is also looking for 10 drivers. To combat the shortages, most school districts are offering higher pay and incentives, but, even with those incentives, dozens of drivers are still needed. Near the top of that list is the need for school bus drivers. With about a month left before most schools in Central Virginia open their doors, staffing shortages remain an issue.
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