PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Before kids return to the classroom, school districts across the Tampa Bay area are looking for people to drive buses for the new school year.
Being a school bus driver was always on Cynthia Woods’ mind.
“Sometimes, if the kids don’t have anything else to look for in the morning, they know they can look forward to seeing you,” said Woods.
Now she’s a step closer to that goal. Woods is a new applicant and will be one of Pinellas County Schools’ new bus drivers.
She said the incentives and pay drew her to the job but that it’s also rewarding.
“I feel like this would be a good setting for me and to be able to help people, help children and get them where they need to go safely as possible,” said Woods.
Pinellas County Schools said they need 57 bus drivers to have a driver in each seat on the first day of school, but they have 23 people either in the process of training or testing right now.
ABC Action News checked in with other Tampa Bay area school districts too. Hillsborough County said they have around 200 driver vacancies, while Sarasota County Schools said the district currently has four open bus driver positions.
“The pay is competitive now,” said T. Mark Hagewood, the Director of Transportation for Pinellas County Schools. “We’re starting at $19.79 an hour.”
Hagewood hopes to see more interest at a transportation job fair on Wednesday, July 19.
To attract potential drivers, they offer an incentive of a $1,000 sign-on bonus: $500 when you finish class and $500 when you finish the school year.
The district said no CDL is required to be hired.
“We will teach you how to drive the school bus,” said Hagewood. “We teach the commercial driver’s license. We’re all-encompassing, and we teach the entire class.”
Bus drivers are often the first people a student sees in the morning and the last they wave goodbye to in the afternoon for school. That job and opportunity isn’t lost on Woods.
“Good morning, and a smile goes a long way,” said Woods.
Pinellas County Schools’ transportation job fair is on July 19 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Coachman Service Center located at 2235 N.E. Coachman Road in Clearwater.
The district also has two other job fairs at the end of the month. For more information, click here.
