PELLA, Iowa (KCCI) – Students getting on their bus are usually met by the friendly face from someone who may not work within their school district’s buildings, but that’s not the case for one driver in Pella, Iowa.
One Pella Community School District bus driver is a well-known person trying to fight a current shortage.
For many school-aged children, nothing beats the excitement of getting on the bus and heading home.
With more than 2,000 students, Pella Community Schools has 25 bus drivers.
But like districts nationwide, there’s still a need.
“This year, they needed a full-time person, and we just weren’t able to find anyone,” Superintendent Greg Ebeling said.
That’s why Ebeling, like a handful of other superintendents across Iowa, is taking the wheel in the afternoons.
A few other people in the district, who have their commercial driver’s license, or CDL, are doing the same.
“There’s a lot of days our transportation director drives as well, and also our mechanic drives,” Ebeling added.
The Iowa Pupil Transportation Association serves as a resource to districts.
The group’s executive director said the pandemic made the shortage worse, and rural areas especially are struggling because it’s hard to find people.
He also says the organization doesn’t know how it’s going to get better, but Iowa district leaders like Ebeling are coming up with solutions to narrow the gap.
Ebeling says it couldn’t be done without great staff.
“We have had full-time employees that we’ve let out early to go drive a bus,” Ebeling said.
All the while, it’s making priceless memories for themselves and students.
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