Bus driver shortage improving, but Kane County school districts still hiring to fill routes

Though the worst of the bus driver shortage is over for many Kane County school districts, the effects are still lingering with routes being cut or adjusted.

Many districts in Kane County, and across the state, lost drivers over the past two years during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Kaneland School District 302, Director of Transportation Karen Smith said that bus and transportation staff are still not at full capacity for the current school year.

“We do not have a driver assigned to each of our routes. We are using our substitute bus drivers on a regular basis,” Smith wrote in an email. “We have consolidated routes wherever possible. Also, the director, assistant and mechanics will drive when needed.”

Smith said that the shortages have forced the district’s sports teams to leave late for some events and competitions.

The bus driver situation has improved in St. Charles District 303. But the district’s Chief Communications Officer Scott Harvey said they continue to hire drivers, even with a full capacity staff.

“We currently have 92 full-time bus drivers with another five in training,” he said. “We are continuing to seek new drivers, and that would support substituting, transportation to extracurricular activities when needed.”

The bus driver shortage has also improved in Geneva, but District 304 still had to make route cuts, said Transportation Director Mary Dunmead. She said the district employs 70 drivers and bus monitors, but will continue to hire more.

“We have enough [drivers] to start the school year, so we don’t have the staff shortages,” she said. “That being said, what we’ve done is combine routes.”

Anderson said that the district helped First Star and Illinois Central to advertise positions, and that both companies added extra benefits for drivers.

“A lot of that was [some drivers] had elderly parents or in-laws that they were taking care of,” she said. “That’s what we saw a lot of, where they just couldn’t take that chance.”

Both Dunmead and Batavia District 101 Director of Operations Mark Anderson said the driver shortages are not nearly as dire as they were last year.

“This year looks much better from what it did last year,” Anderson said.

Batavia outsources its bus transportation to First Star for regular student transportation and Illinois Central School Bus for its special education routes, Anderson said.

“Last year there was a driver shortage for us for the entire year,” he said. “Everyone that was working for [First Star], the office area, the shop mechanics, whoever had the certification to drive a bus was driving a bus last year.”

Anderson said extracurricular activities were impacted the most.

“The high school gets out at 2:30 p.m., the middle school at 3 p.m., elementary at 3:30 p.m.,” he said. “If those high school students have after school activities, they have to get to a contest… that was very delayed.”

Anderson said that the district assisted First Star and Illinois Central to advertise positions, and that both companies added extra benefits for drivers.

Dunmead said that increased recruitment efforts and driver recognition helped bring back staff in Geneva.

“We’ve done recruitment, we’ve always, even before COVID, been very cognizant of recognizing the drivers and the role they play in all of this, because obviously you can’t teach the kids if you can’t get them [to school],” Dunmead said.

Smith said that Kaneland has also increased advertising, and along with offering more benefits for drivers.

“We pay a competitive wage and also offer health insurance when a driver is contracted for more than 30 hours per week,” Smith said.

Anderson said that despite the new hires, losing veteran drivers familiar with routes and students can be a loss.

“Once drivers are on a route and they know where to go, it benefits everybody,” he said.