CLOVER, S.C. — This week was the first week of school for South Carolina students in the greater Charlotte area, but parents told WCNC Charlotte a shortage of bus drivers is creating some challenges.
Normally at the Clover District Transportation Center, the lot is full of buses. At 4 p.m. Friday, many were out dropping students back off at home. The district said the drop-off times are much later because of the nationwide problem.
Ross Hunter is the administrative bus coordinator for the Clover School District and said he really only drives the bus when he has to, and this school year, he has to. The district told WCNC Charlotte the district is short about six drivers, about 12% of the staff.
"Timing is impacted, we have to double and triple up routes and it takes longer," Hunter said.
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Bryan Dillion, a spokesperson for Clover School District, said this week kids are getting dropped off upwards of two hours after school gets out. When it comes to getting to school, if the bell goes off at 9 a.m., many students are getting there well after.
"But we continue to improve each day," Dillon said.
Another issue is the growth of York County. Developments have popped up left and right. More families are planting roots in Clover and more students are in need of transportation.
"We don’t have a real way to prepare for it," Dillon said. "Like these houses weren’t here in May and now it's August and we are picking kids up back here.”
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Some in the community are looking at the openings, and have pointed towards the pay. Many online said the wages are not enticing people to fill the driver's seat. Dillon said pay is competitive with other York County schools.
"We’ve increased the starting salary to $15.50 an hour," Dillon said.
Looking at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, starting pay for bus drivers is $17.75 an hour with a $1,000 signing bonus.
Contact Austin Walker at awalker@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.