School districts look to fill bus driver openings
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — As students are back in the classroom, school districts are still looking to fill bus driver positions. One veteran driver said driving a school bus is exciting and wants to encourage others to apply.
Wallace Youngblood started working as a bus driver 10 years ago with Oklahoma City Public Schools.
He also believes driving a bus is a lot easier than it looks.
"When I first started, it was a very challenging opportunity. But it's fun. It's easy to drive... Training, it's just fantastic," said Wallace Youngblood, a 10-year bus driver with OKCPS.
Youngblood said the opportunity to serve students every day is adventurous and exciting. He hopes he's an influence on someone's life.
"I wanted to just help one child. Of course, I've been in ten years....just give them a bump in the road to be able to change things in their lives and put them on the right path," said Youngblood.
There are quite a few open jobs in transportation.
"We actually have enough positions to hire 30 people now. However, really right now, we could use ten more drivers and that's just to help cover when people are absent," said Scott Lane, the Director of Transportation at OKCPS.
Lane said the school district provides paid training for new bus driver hires.
"Up to 90 days you get paid while they're learning to drive a bus. And that adds up real quick," said Lane.
Lane also wants to remind parents to make sure they know the bus routes for their child.
To find your child's route, click here.
Another reminder Lane mentioned is to be at the bus stop about 10 minutes before the pickup time and keep an index card with emergency information with your child in their bag.
He also wants parents to teach their children their home address, just in case of an emergency.
Yukon Public Schools are also hiring bus drivers. They said they're looking for people who can be a role model to students.
"We can teach anyone to drive a school bus," said Christy Clemons, the Director of Transportation at Yukon Public Schools.
Clemons said they also offer paid training for new bus drivers.
"It is a great position for, you know, parents who have kids in school. We work here in transportation. We work about 30 hours a week. But the district here is fantastic," said Clemons.
Putnam City Schools sent a statement to News 4:
We are experiencing a bus driver shortage, but it is not severe at this time. We are actively advertising, hiring, and training for new drivers and anyone interested can apply on our website. The District is thankful for our dedicated Transportation Department that continues to do everything possible to keep the buses safely rolling for our Putnam City students.
Putnam City Schools
Deer Creek Schools told News 4 they have three open bus driver positions.
If you're interested in applying to a position at one of these districts click the links below or call the phone number.
- Oklahoma City Public Schools click here or call 405-587-1158
- Yukon Public Schools click here
- Deer Creek Schools click here
- Putnam City Schools click here