Amid a nationwide bus driver shortage, Whidbey’s school districts and public transit system are hoping to get some positions filled.

According to Catherine Gutierrez, director of transportation at the Oak Harbor School District, finding bus drivers has been “extremely difficult” since the pandemic.

Five drivers short of a full staff of 40, the district is currently relying on substitute drivers to cover two missing permanent drivers and expects to have another open route starting in January.

Additionally, the district has combined some routes together, making the commute longer and more uncomfortable due to cramming more students in one bus, she said. If the educational programs and operations levy renewal doesn’t pass in the special election in February, Gutierrez expects the department will be forced to merge even more routes.

One of the two new itineraries resulting from the merger includes the special education route. According to Gutierrez, commute changes can add stress to students with disabilities as they need consistency to feel safe.

Additionally, students may not be able to attend after-school activities because there isn’t a driver who can take them, she said.

In the Coupeville School District, where the last vacant bus driver position was filled at the end of October, the Transportation Department is looking for a third and fourth substitute driver who can cover shifts when any of the six permanent drivers are sick or busy taking students to games and field trips, according to Department Supervisor Rob Wallace.

Because driving students to and from the school for their regular classes is a priority, the district may have to schedule trips during non-regular commute hours. When that isn’t possible, a game may be moved to another date or canceled, he said.

Similarly to what happens in Oak Harbor, Coupeville students may find themselves crammed in a single bus for longer periods of time when there isn’t a substitute who can cover for a missing driver.

Wallace estimated there are 600 to 620 students who ride one of 12 routes. While route cuts have only occurred a handful of times over the past several years, Wallace said, it can get uncomfortable and lead to misconduct.

Gutierrez, who first started working as a bus driver over 20 years ago, said student behavior has gotten worse after the pandemic, leading to increased stress among bus drivers, who are responsible for ensuring students are safe and compliant with the rules.

While fully staffed, the South Whidbey School District is always looking for substitute drivers to serve about 390 regular riders, Superintendent Josephine Moccia wrote in an email. The 12-bus fleet is operated by 10 permanent drivers, and the district needs as many substitutes as possible to cover drivers when they take time off, Moccia wrote.

One of the challenging aspects of the job, she said, can be working a split shift on mornings and afternoons.

Gutierrez suspects the long training process could be deterring people from pursuing this job.

Training may in fact take up to two or more months from beginning to end, though it depends on how fast students learn all the necessary skills and information, Wallace said.

Prospective drivers go through a rigorous training process where they learn about laws, how to deescalate disorderliness or respond to emergencies, how to secure wheelchairs, how to maneuver a bus and make sure it’s operable, and more.

On top of training candidates also go through background checks, health screenings and tests to assess their preparedness for the job. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction then has the final say on whether the candidate is worthy of the job.

Gutierrez said it can be harder to go through all this training while juggling a part-time or full-time job. For this reason, the districts pay drivers to go through training.

It’s the same at Island Transit, Whidbey’s public zero-fare transit system.

According to information provided by Selene Muldowney-Stratton, Island Transit’s communications officer, the agency has been struggling with finding bus operators because of the limited labor pool and misconceptions about the job. People may not be aware that trainees are paid with benefits for their training, and that Whidbey is a much safer place to work compared to larger cities.

“We have fewer incidents of mischief and criminal activities at our bus stops and in our buses,” she wrote in an email.

Island Transit is currently looking to add four to six bus drivers to its team of 64 operators, Muldowney-Stratton wrote in an email. The training process includes preparing for the commercial learner’s permit test — which costs $40 and trainees pay out of pocket — and four weeks of mentored driving with a senior operator.

Wallace believes the number of job applications has gone down due to Coupeville being located in a rural area and because of laws regulating the use of controlled substances.

According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, bus drivers cannot test positive for alcohol or marijuana. While marijuana is legal in Washington, it is still a controlled substance at the federal level. A person may test positive for marijuana up to 30 days after consumption, WSDOT states, and with tests being conducted at random, Wallace believes some may not be willing to give up weed for the job.

With many families moving to Whidbey because of the Navy, Wallace also believes states should have the same training and rules for bus drivers. For example, some Navy spouses from out of state may have to go through training again in Washington, even if they held a commercial driver’s license in another state, he said.

The pay is similar between the three school districts and increases each year. Hours and benefits depend on what route the driver is contracted to cover.

In Oak Harbor, new drivers are paid $30.45 an hour. In Coupeville, entry-level drivers earn $32 an hour, while substitute drivers earn $31, Wallace said. On South Whidbey, the pay ranges between $30.60 and $36.04 per hour. Island Transit trainees are paid $21.32 and $23.08 after training, with yearly increases.

All these four jobs offer the reward of building relationships with riders.

A key requirement for the school bus driver position is being child-oriented, Gutierrez said. Drivers must be willing to learn the name of each student on their route and develop a rapport with the students’ families.

Some seasoned drivers have been driving kids for decades, seeing generations of Wildcats, Wolves and Falcons grow up before they’re entrusted with the safety of their children in a full-circle moment.

“It’s very rewarding to have that opportunity,” Wallace said.