That puts DPS at the higher end statewide for bus drivers. A 2024 survey of hundreds of Ohio school districts by the Ohio Association for Pupil Transportation found only 7.1% of districts pay starting drivers over $22 an hour.
Some districts (14.2%) start at less than $15 per hour, while most fall into the $16 to $21 range for starting bus drivers, the survey found.
Todd Silverthorn, Kettering’s school transportation director, who has been in school transportation for more than 20 years and previously was president of the Ohio Association for Pupil Transportation, said there’s been a long-term shortage of bus drivers. This year, there are 20,541 Ohio bus drivers, compared to 25,706 bus drivers in 2019.
Silverthorn said school transportation used to rely on retirees who wanted a more flexible job in the community. Fewer of those retirees are now willing to drive a bus, he said.
“When I first got here at Kettering, we had a lot of GM (General Motors) retirees that were driving routes,” Silverthorn said. “We’re not seeing those retirees come in as much as what we used to.”
In addition to the pay, the job’s unusual hours are a factor in recruiting drivers.
The day starts at 5:30 a.m. or earlier at the bus garage. Drivers warm up the buses, complete a pre-drive check of each bus, confirm their routes and hit the road.
The shift can end as late as 5 p.m., with a long break in the middle. Some districts offer their drivers jobs in the cafeteria or other parts of the district during the day, and drivers could also drive for field trips or sports.
Others have midday routes. Depending on the school district, that could take an hour or two to complete the midday runs, Silverthorn said.
Add to that, there’s a lot of kids on the bus. Drivers generally say that kids are the best and the worst part of the job. It’s great to build relationships with the kids, but they’re also kids — they’re not following the rules all the time.
DPS Superintendent Lawrence said when he was hired as the business manager in September 2023 he spent a lot of time with the bus drivers, listening to their concerns.
Many of Dayton Public’s bus drivers are Black, single moms or grandmothers, who take the work to have a job that is the same hours as their kids’ school.
The district opened a new transportation center in August 2024. The state-of-the-art building at 4290 James H. McGee Blvd. was meant to attract and retain bus drivers in a competitive market.
“We kept increasing pay, and we kept going and we kept listening,” Lawrence said. “And we kept going, and we kept minimizing disputes with management, and we just kept showing up to say we’re here for one of our most vulnerable populations.”
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