TAMPA, Florida. – Parents in Hillsborough County are concerned about photos showing students on crowded buses. Similar to the nationwide teacher shortage, Tampa Bay counties are also having trouble finding bus drivers.
Photos taken by a parent show children on their way to school, sitting four at a time in the aisle. The mother who shared these photos is concerned for her child’s safety. The district said they spoke to the driver about the photos and all students must remain in their seats.
There are currently just over 600 drivers in Hillsborough County, but five years ago there were over 800. But because there are more routes today than ever before, the allowable capacity of a bus is limited to 77 students – often many times over.
READ: Court supports Hillsborough School District in November vote on teacher salaries
“This is a real problem. We are desperately short of bus drivers. We are hiring every day. We are working with transportation and the school district to get this done. And we are hiring, but we are short. We are probably a little over 100 drivers short right now,” said Stephanie MacNeel of the Hillsborough School Employees Federation. “The reality is we are not going to leave a child standing. So is there going to be overcrowding on some buses? We are doing everything we can to mitigate that problem. But if we stop at a bus stop to pick up students and they are standing, we cannot leave them standing. So we either stop and everyone waits for another bus to come or we take them to school.”
She said the problem was pay.
School bus drivers in Hillsborough County earn only about $25,000 a year. A tax increase that would help fund teacher and bus driver salaries is on the county ballot in 2024.
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