Lisbon superintendent Pat Hocking predicts that there may be sporting events that aren’t played this winter not because students are ill, but because transportation becomes an issue. To help with that issue, Hocking was looking to purchase another transit 12-passenger van for the district’s fleet to allow transport of smaller groups of athletes to competitions.
Like several districts in the Tri-Rivers Conference and Grant Wood Area Education Agency, Lisbon is having a hard time recruiting bus drivers for their district, noted Hocking.
“It’s not a matter of pay,” Hocking said. “We are at the top of the payscale for school districts our size for bus drivers and we’re still having a hard time filling open positions for bus drivers.”
The district offers a $250 stipend to drivers who do obtain their licensure and drive for the district for more than 20 rides as an incentive, with that stipend covering the 20 or more hours that is needed to obtain a commercial license.
At the school board meeting Sept. 8, the district approved purchasing a second 12 passenger transit van. Transit vans can be driven by any employee who has a valid driver’s license and passes a background check by the school, allowing for flexibility for competitions with smaller teams to be able to travel to events without a school bus.
“Iowa law allows a 12 passenger van to be driven by anyone without a commercial driver’s license,” Hocking said. “Other districts have found this out as well, which is why we’re finding transit buses in other states to fill this need for our fleet.”
Hocking noted that if coaches do have to be the driver of a transit bus to a competition because of the shortage of bus drivers, he expects those coaches to be reimbursed for their time spent driving to the competitions.