Transportation managers are interviewing, hiring and training at Daviess County Public Schools. They’ve gotten a good response to their recruitment campaign that advertised a job that comes with “a company vehicle."
That vehicle is a bus.
Lora Wimsatt is a spokesperson for the school district. She said with 117 daily bus routes that carry 7,000 students, the district has to keep up its staff of trained drivers.
“I had worked with our transportation director and we were concerned that the number of applicants for open school bus driver positions had decreased over the years. So we wanted to do something new and exciting that would get people’s attention and get people talking.”
The recruitment for bus drivers started this past April. The district posted colorful banners that said, “Now hiring school bus drivers, benefits, paid training and company vehicle provided.”
“We put the banners on the side of school buses and then we parked the buses in the front lawns of some of our schools that are on really busy high highways,” said Wimsatt. “Those were very visible and they got a lot of attention. I think people really got a kick out of the 'company vehicle provided' line.”
Wimsatt says about a dozen new bus drivers are currently in training. Each new driver starts as a substitute and can go to a permanent route when one becomes available. Daviess County school bus drivers are considered full-time employees with benefits.
School starts Aug. 10 for Daviess County Public Schools.
