Osceola County schools looking to hire 40 bus drivers

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Osceola County schools are once again looking for bus drivers.

With 40 positions to fill, the district is hoping a change to its bell schedule will help ease the driver shortage.

With school out for the summer, most of the buses are back at the yard and the focus is on hiring.

“They have to have a clean license for the last three years. No moving violations. They have to get their CDL permit,” said David King, transportation coordinator.

Osceola County schools hosted a job fair Tuesday to help fill the vacant positions, with pay starting at $12.87 an hour.

While the driver shortage isn’t new, King said the district is now facing tough competition from delivery services that also need people behind the wheel.

“You've got the natural attrition, plus we've got these other competing businesses that are competing for drivers like Publix and other places that deliver,” said King.

A change in the bell schedule may help ease the burden. Starting in August, the district is putting schools with similar grades on a similar schedule.

That should eliminate about 25 bus routes, but not the need for more drivers.

“We still need drivers. We always need people, substitutes, because any given day we might have 15 people, 20 people absent,” said King.

When that happens, some routes get covered or split, or folks like King get behind the wheel to help out. But that’s only a short-term solution.

King said the district has had a lot of late buses recently, which he attributed to the driver shortage.

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