Schools prepare for another year of bus driver shortages

CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- School bus driver shortages that started during the pandemic continue to hurt transportation departments, including in one of the Capital Region’s largest districts.

Summertime for the transportation department at Shenendehowa Central School District usually has a more relaxed feel.

“We take that time to, kind of, take a breath and start to prepare for fall," said Belinda Govich, Assistant Director of Transportation at Shen, "unfortunately because we are short drivers, we have not had that breath.“

The steep, post-pandemic decline in drivers has been attributed to many of them reaching retirement age, and not enough applicants filling the gaps through what used to be considerable foot traffic at their office.

“We lost about 19 drivers this year, and we only have about 10 in training so far, so we are already going to be going into the fall short again,“ Govich explained.

The Shen transportation department hasn’t been able to help out with town summer camps and field trips as they have in years past, because they only have enough staff to cover summer school alone.

Govich, who is also with the New York Association for Pupil Transportation, said the issue goes beyond her district.

“A lot of my colleagues that are directors and transportation supervisors are out on the road driving every day," Govich said, "basically anyone with a CDL is out on the roads.”

Her message to parents: “Be patient. We most likely will be facing some delays as we did last year, as we have very similar challenges as we did last year.“