The Anchorage School District is not anticipating a repeat of last year’s severe bus driver shortage that left thousands of families without service for months.
Anchorage School District buses, parked at the district's transportation headquarters on August 24, 2022.
The Anchorage School District is not anticipating a repeat of last year’s severe bus driver shortage thatThere are 227 bus routes in the district, and as of this week, there were 220 drivers “ready to go,” which means that all but seven of the routes would be covered, district spokesman MJ Thim said in an email. The district was hoping to hire seven more drivers, and had 15 drivers currently in training “that will more than make up the difference,” Thim wrote.
District superintendent Jharrett Bryantt attributed the improved staffing to an approximately 20% pay increase that the district implemented last fall for school bus drivers — from less than $21 an hour to $25 — and a shift in scheduling that allowed all drivers to work year-round, instead of needing to seek employment elsewhere.
“We’ve been doing careful planning to prevent that type of crisis from happening again,” Bryantt said. “We expect for all of our students to have access to transportation services, and that’s a great place to be.” Heather Philp, the district’s senior director of transportation, said the 220 includes drivers who have already returned to work, or are in the process of finishing their required trainings and are scheduled to drive beginning the first day of school.more bus drivers — in addition to the $25 an hour pay, it is offering a $1,000 bonus in December for drivers who don’t miss more than two days of work, she said.
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