Bus drivers wanted

By Editor | September 13, 2017 |

SKYE POURNAZARI/DAILY FORUM
Students find their buses Tuesday at Eugene Field Elementary School in Maryville. Maryville R-II bus company Jarnik Buses seeks more drivers for the Maryville district routes.

Maryville R-II is looking for a few good bus drivers.

Assistant Superintendent Steve Klotz said the district is really in need of more bus drivers. Jarnik Buses, Inc – Peoples Transport has been advertising around town seeking anyone interested in working as a driver for the Maryville School District.

“They’re really trying to push advertising,” Klotz said. “They’ve got signs posted … buses parked all over the place with big banners.”

Char Welsh Assistant General Manager and Safety Coordinator of Jarnik Buses located in King City, Mo., said the job has some very good positives for people who have the availability.

“Our hours are pretty conducive to senior citizens, stay-at-home moms, stay-at-home dads,” Welsh said. “We pay $47.50 a day. And the majority of the routes take three hours and 15 minutes per day.

The hours for regular daily routes are 6:15 to 7:45 a.m. and 2:15 to 4 p.m. she said.

The company hopes to find people interested in driving both a morning and an evening route, but are open to anyone interested in only one of them. “We certainly do have afternoon and weekend opportunities as well,” Welsh said.

The bus company will take the interested applicant from beginning to end of the process. Training takes about 25 hours and is paid by the company. Jarnik also will pay for the background check and CDL license required to drive the bus.

“We’ll help them with the practice tests and find them online tests for practice,” Welsh said. “Once they get their permit, then they will receive teaching in a classroom and on a bus.”

Jarnik will teach interested drivers all the basics including how to drive the bus, how to back up the bus, and how to drive on the road. “We teach them how to manage students,” Welsh said. “We get them ready to do that. If you like kids, we’re going to teach you how to be a part of a good team.”

Klotz said it could even be a good job for a college student.

“It’s an opportunity, if your schedule works with it, he said. ‘It’s an opportunity to be involved with kids, contribute to the community and get paid for it. I think right now they have a signing bonus, if you’re able to get through all the process and start driving.”

The district has four city routes and nine rural routes.

“We can always use morning route drivers and afternoon route drivers,” said Klotz. “What complicates it for us, we have a ton of activities for our kids to participate in that are extra-curricular that all require travel.”

The district has nights where seven events take place and perhaps only two of them are at home.

“So, now you take your pool of drivers that drive your daily routes, but your afternoon route you need 13 drivers, but now also you have five trips also leaving at 2:30 p.m.,” he said.

General Manager for Jarnik, David Peak said “There is a nationwide shortage of bus drivers. We’re seeing it happen everywhere. We’re under contract with 11 different school districts and nobody has the answer. No one has the perfect recruitment answer or the perfect retainment answer. Some say it doesn’t pay enough. Some say it’s perfect for what they want.”

He said he’s heard all different kinds of reasons for why people don’t want to be a driver. “Some say it’s the responsibility of the children, or how the kids are now. There doesn’t seem to be an answer.

Driving a bus on Tuesday, Martin Farnan, Maryville School District transportation manager said Tuesday, that it would be good to see some more drivers enter the district. Other route drivers expressed it would be a relief if more people were interested in helping the district. “It’s the best job I’ve ever had,” another driver said.

The need appears to be there and Klotz knows the community of Maryville likes to support its education system.

“It’s not that it’s community service, because you’re paid to do it,” he said. “But, it is a service to the community. It’s a great way to be engaged with the kids. I fully recognize that driving a bus is a difficult job because you’re facing this way and there’s 50 kids behind you. It’s a really important thing for this community to drive school buses.”

For more information about becoming a bus driver, please call 660-562-3663.