Local school districts still hiring bus drivers

MEDFORD, Ore – Bus drivers are often the first and last adult in the school system that students see each day. But with school just around the corner, many locations in the Rogue Valley are still hiring.

“We have the power to make or break a child’s day,” Julie Clemence, Medford Location Manager, said.

The first day of school is just around the corner and companies are still working to hire bus drivers.

“We still need about thirty drivers,” Clemence said.

Ohio company ‘First Student’, contracts with many local school districts. Clemence says the company still needs to hire about ten bus drivers for each of the Medford, Phoenix-Talent and Central Point districts.

“We always are in need of drivers, so we are always hiring,” Clemence said.

Every year, the Medford location aims to have 120 drivers. This year, they only have about a hundred.

“We don’t usually need to hire as many as we do this year,” Clemence said.

If they don’t hire extra bus drivers to cover the rest of the routes, office staff will step in. That could happen soon, with Medford kids beginning classes Monday.

‘First Student’ says they have one bus driver who has been driving students for over thirty years. In order to qualify, you must be at least 21 years old, have had a drivers license for three years and pass a background check and drug screening.