AKRON, Ohio — The Akron Public Schools district, like school systems across the nation, has struggled over the years with bus-driver shortages, but the current situation has been fueled by the pandemic and increasing regulations.

“It’s bad,” said William Andexler, the Akron Public Schools district’s transportation coordinator.

With 95 bus drivers now on staff now, Andexler said he needs another 30 drivers to adequately meet the district’s needs.

To that end, the district is actively recruiting bus drivers, bus assistants and contracted van drivers, and covering the costs of training for bus drivers to get licensed.

Andexler remembers a bus driver shortage early in his career, but the current scenario is straining districts more than shortages of days gone by, he said. He points to roughly 15 years when the Akron district served a much larger population of students than today.

“They only ran 50 buses,” he said of the district. “Now, fast forward to 2022, and between us and our private contractor, we're running about 110 buses.”

The number of buses is less the problem than regulations, which can be good for students but tough on his department, he said.

Among them is transportation of homeless children, he said. Under the McKinney-Vento Act (MKV), homeless kids must be transported to schools in the community they lived in when they became homeless.

That means if an Akron student’s family became homeless and moved to Cleveland, the Akron district must coordinate with the Cleveland district to make sure the child attends the Akron school she’s used to, Andexler said.

“It's good for the kids, don't get me wrong, it's good,” he said. “Because it gives them a stable environment. This is what they're used to, you know, you're breaking down barriers and everything.”

Another scenario is when parents decide to send their children to charter, non-public or community schools. If the new school is within 30 minutes of their resident public school, the Akron district is required by law to transport the student, he said.

“I'm not saying it's wrong that we have to do that,” Andexler said. “I'm just saying that's the stress that's put on the department.”

Those are examples of regulations created without the support districts need to implement them, he said.

“In our case, though, with transportation, we just don't have the staffing to take care of all these additional requirements,” he said.

Add to that the ripple effects from the pandemic. Many older drivers retired because they were more susceptible to COVID-19, he said.

So how does the district keep up as the school year begins to roll out?

“Definitely a lot of drivers are working a lot of extra duty to fill in the gaps,” he said. “A lot of my drivers that worked the summer did not have a break at all. They were getting anywhere from 50 to 60 hours a week.”

Driver shortage aside, driving a school bus is not only rewarding, drivers receive full benefits working a minimum of 25 hours per week, Andexler said.

Driving hours are normally flexible, enabling many drivers to work split shifts to accommodate other careers as beauticians, landscapers, housekeepers, nail artists and other roles, he said.

And you don’t need a commercial driver’s license to become a bus driver — the school district pays for drivers to earn their commercial driver’s license, said Angela Carter, the district’s recruitment and retention manager.

Candidates also don’t need a spotless driving record, Andexler said. An OVI would knock someone out of the running, but minor infractions would not. The district does conduct criminal background checks and drug testing.

But there’s no age limit as long as a candidate is 21 or older, making bus driving a good opportunity for people who retire in their 50s or 60s, he said.

Daily interaction with students and their families is also a perk, Carter said.

“It’s definitely is a job where you're not just driving, but you are building relationships, you're impacting lives,” Carter said. “Just having those personal relationships with the students are rewarding."

The Akron district is also down 54% in bus assistants, who ride buses to help keep kids in check.

Independent van drivers whose vehicles provide seven to 10 seats, including the driver, are also needed, Andexler said. The district’s roster of independent van drivers is down 22%.

“That’s huge, that’s really huge,” he said. Interested contract van drivers should contact his office directly at 330-761-1390, ext. 4.

To become a bus driver or become a bus assistant, visit the Akron Public Schools website to review the job descriptions and fill out an online application.