With detour ahead, JMCSS in need of more bus drivers
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JACKSON, Tenn. — Jackson-Madison County School System officials say it’s in need of more bus drivers before current staff take a detour into retirement at the end of the school year.
JMCSS Marketing and Public relations specialist Ginger Carver said the district currently has three full-time openings.
“We also know and anticipate that we have some drivers that are going to be retiring at the end of this school year,” she said. “So we want to plan ahead and try to get those drivers here now so that we can have them ready for the fall.”
Carver said this isn’t a new challenge within the district and it’s something being felt nationwide, estimating about 20 percent of school systems across the country are in the same predicament.
Carver said bus routes and current drivers are not being impacted much by the shortage, but there have been occasions when drivers had to double up on routes. She said the district has also utilized substitute drivers more than usual.
With stringent requirements, Carver said it usually takes a few months for new drivers to get their wheels turning.
“If someone came in and already had their CDL license or some of the other pieces of the requirements, it could speed up the process a little bit, but normally it takes from two to three months in order to get that driver on the road and the route,” she said.
Applications can be completed online here.
