Pelion, SC (Paul Kirby) - Parents of students that attend any of the Pelion area schools in Lexington School District One are being asked to help while the district is struggling with a short-term bus driver shortage. Parents received the request for assistance via an email from Jeff Caldwell, Lexington One’s chief student services officer Thursday afternoon.
In his communication, Caldwell told parents of children who ride a bus to and from school that the Pelion area continues to experience a higher than usual absentee rate of bus drivers for various reasons. “As you have noticed this week, the bus driver shortage has caused significant late morning pick-ups and delayed afternoon drop-offs,” Caldwell wrote. He said district officials believed that the situation would improve after students come back from the Thanksgiving break.
Between now and Thanksgiving, parents who possibly can are asked to drive their children to school in the morning and pick them up at the end of the day. Caldwell said that this will help ensure the children get to school on time in the morning and back home in the afternoon.
People who possess the commercial driver’s license needed to drive any bus cannot just begin driving a school bus, even for a short time. School districts require special training in areas like student safety that can not be completed in just a few hours or days.
Many school districts struggle to hire and train enough bus drivers each year. If you are interested in working as a school bus driver, or in any other open position, in Lexington District One, you can check their website for employment opportunities at https://www.lexdistrict1.com/i-am/a-prospective-employee/employment-opportunities.
