Jackson bus driver shortage to push school start time back

A persistent shortage of bus drivers for the Jackson R-2 School District will result in the delayed start of one campus.

Orchard Elementary School will be moving to a 9 a.m. start time and 4:10 p.m. end of the school day for the time being, Scott Smith, the district's superintendent, said. The decision was made at a special board meeting last week.

The elementary school was chosen because of its proximity to the transportation depot and route size. Using a tiered routing system at that district will impact the least number of students, Smith said.

"This is something that I know this district has faced for at least a year, if not longer," Smith said of the shortage. "So, it's nothing new."

The difficult decision comes as Jackson continues to grapple with the shortage that, as of this week, left them 12 drivers shy of being fully staffed. The district has around 70 buses on the lot and 54 to 58 drivers is considered fully staffed.

Smith said with the district's size and number of students, a decision needed to be made with the first day of school on Aug. 22 fast approaching.

Smith, himself a licensed bus driver, has had to step in multiple times as a substitute driver on bus routes.

Jackson, the largest district in Cape Girardeau County at 280 square miles, has more than 5,700 students, some 3,000 of whom ride the bus each school day.

"These are students that have to have transportation to get an education," Smith said.

For comparison, Cape Girardeau School District averages 1,500 to 1,700 students on buses per day and considers 33 drivers fully staffed, Tara Bowers, location manager for Robinson Transport, which handles Cape Girardeau busing, said.

Smith said the shortage has been caused by multiple factors, including driver retirements and deaths, as well as the qualifications for the position. Bus drivers must have a commercial driver's license, school bus endorsements and a safe driving record.

The district is going to continue recruiting new drivers throughout the school year, the superintendent said. The school plans to do another "Bus Driver University" in the fall. The district also provides onsite training. Smith also said those potentially interested should visit the district's website or contact the district office.

"The goal is for us to be able to go back to a regular schedule where all buildings start at the same time as soon as possible, but first we have to have drivers," Smith said.

Cape Girardeau does have somewhat of a shortage of its own. The district is currently five drivers short of 33, Bowers said. However, there are enough drivers to operate a normal route schedule, she said, there's just not a huge cushion in case of illness absences.

The school is doing a "Drive The Bus" promotion from 10 a.m. to 2p.m. Aug. 13 for any potentially interested in driving for the district. All that's required is a valid driver's license, Bowers said.