Drivers needed to keep buses rolling

Substitutes receive $18.80 per hour

To keep 131 buses rolling and get more than 8,500 students a day to class, St. Charles Parish Public Schools needs more substitute drivers.

“Now is a good time to come on board because we will staff any full-time vacancies over the summer for next year,” said Patrick O’Malley, the school’s administrator of ancillary services.

O’Malley said meeting the requirements now as a substitute driver helps a candidate who wants to drive fulltime for the next school year.

“They come in as subs, get training and assistance in getting the [CDL] license and, once proven as a sub, we typically staff full-time positions at the beginning of school,” O’Malley said.

Also, the system is typically in need of substitute drivers, too.

“The qualities that make a good school bus operator first and foremost are safety oriented,” O’Malley said. “They have to love children enough to expect them to behave … to be safe.”

Distractions create safety issues on a bus so a good driver, career or substitute, keeps them to a minimum, he said.

O’Malley said becoming a substitute bus driver is a good opportunity for people in between careers or transitioning from being a fulltime bus driver, as well as retirees used to getting up early.

“We can certainly use them and it may take a little while to get started, but the sooner you start the process the sooner we’ll have you driving a bus,” he said.

All applicants must have a high school degree or equivalent.

Those interested in becoming a substitute bus driver must have a CDL with school bus passenger and air brake endorsements before they can be considered for a position.

But O’Malley said, once they have a CDL learner’s permit, the school system provides training for the endorsements.

Substitute drivers receive an hourly wage of $18.80 and work an estimated 20 hours a week on average.

“Another nice feature of this is really no working nights or weekends or holidays,” O’Malley said. “They typically don’t work from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.”

The requirements for the position also include a safe driving record for three years and satisfactory completion of a physical examination.

The daily hours vary between 6:30 to 8:45 a.m. in the morning and 2 p.m. until all children are dropped off in the afternoon.

Those interested in becoming substitute bus drivers can apply online at https://www.stcharles.k12.la.us/Page/864.

 

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