Help wanted: Bus drivers!
It’s a hopeful time at the Manchester Community Schools bus garage, and a great time to start a career as a school bus driver. Photo courtesy of Heather Tedder.
Are you new to Manchester? Want to get to know your neighbors and people throughout the school district? Or have you lived here all your life, and think you know every back road there is?
Are you looking for something to do that coincides with your kids’ schedule, now that they’re in school? A way to be able to attend their sporting events and/or educational field trips? Do you want to know your children’s friends and their friends’ parents? Or are you just seeking a job with flexibility that has plenty of rewards and benefits to match up with the challenges it presents?
Well, Deb Heskett, at the Transportation Department of Manchester Community Schools, can offer you all of that–and more.
Heskett, who has been driving bus for 30 years, took over last year as the transportation director, and has been building a cohesive family unit of bus drivers ever since. She is looking to add to that team.
“We have a great bunch of people,” she says. “We just don’t have enough of them. We all work together; everyone pitches in … but sometimes, we just do not have enough.”
Last week, one of the bus drivers was hospitalized briefly and needed to take a few days off her route. Since there are currently no substitutes, and only enough drivers to cover their own routes, Heskett put into action an emergency plan that she’s been working on since starting her new position.
“We split the route in two, and got the kids as quickly as we could,” she says. “It worked; even though we were stretched to the max, we made it happen and we covered the route. But we sure don’t want to have to do that every day.”
Parents were notified of the change to the route via the “Remind” app; those who do not currently have the app are asked to sign up so they can receive important notifications from not only the school but the bus garage.
The other problem with having only enough drivers to cover the daily to-and-from school routes means that there isn’t always a driver to take on the after school athletic events. So, many events don’t have buses for the athletes and parents are forced to leave work early, car-pool, or rely on others to get their kids to events on time.
“Just having someone willing to drive the kids to these events would be huge,” says Jeff Waters, one of the newest drivers to the district. “It’s a good way to cut your teeth on driving as a substitute, and you learn where the other schools are.”
“Plus, you get paid to watch your kid in a sporting event,” says Karen Lorincz, who has been driving a bus for more than 20 years herself. Lorincz started out as a crossing guard, and says she was just going to drive until her youngest child graduated in 2010 … but she has stayed on and now has no intention of retiring any time soon.
“You get a lot of training,” Lorincz added. “They are with you every step of the way. I remember when I first received my CDL they put me on a route that same afternoon, but it’s different now and you get as much mentoring as you need. No one leaves you hanging. Plus, there’s continuing education that you get every two years.
“We need to start training the next generation of drivers,” she continued, “so we can help them get to where we’re at now. I think of all the people who helped me when I started out … it has been very rewarding.”
The requirements for becoming a bus driver include obtaining a CDL, being 21 years of age, getting fingerprinted, and passing a physical which includes drug and alcohol testing. There is also a four-day course through WISD that is required for complete certification within 6 months of hire. The transportation department helps every step of the way, including paying for your license and help with training to pass the written and road tests.
“It’s not as intimidating as you might think,” Heskett says. “It sounds like a lot, but it’s usually about 6 weeks to two months.”
Heather Tedder, who started driving when her boys started school (and whose youngest just graduated last year), was another new parent to Manchester who wanted to get to know the community better. And she’s still driving and enjoying it.
“I got to spend my time on the job with my kids,” she says. “I got to know our neighbors and I got to know my boys’ friends. It helped me as a parent to understand what was going on in the schools, and to get to know people in all the departments. I have learned a lot.”
Another common thread in the conversation at the bus garage was how the kids on the bus become “our” kids.
“We wipe their noses; we give them hugs,” Lorincz said. “We know their family routine. We watch to make sure things look right when we drop them off at home. We look after our own.”
And all agree that the atmosphere among the drivers is also one of “family.” Everyone pitches in, goes the extra mile (literally and figuratively), and works collaboratively to get things done, especially in a pinch like they experienced last week. A retired bus driver, Margene Dunsmore, has been helping Heskett coordinate the afternoon routes, when Heskett herself has to get out and take a route to cover another driver.
“She saw a need, and she stepped in to fill in and help us out,” Heskett said. “We are grateful for that.”
And they’re also grateful for their mechanic, Jim Schook, whom Heskett describes as a “doer.”
“If he sees something that needs to be done,” she says, “he just goes ahead and does it. He was here (Wednesday) when there was no school, and he refilled everyone’s fluids and took care of some other minor things to make sure the buses are in shape.
“The transportation department is full of doers,” she adds. “We have people who are here driving when they should be home in bed. But they’re here because they know they are needed.”
Are you a “doer?” Step up and be part of the solution. Apply for a job as a school bus driver and become part of the family.
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