Tribune Chronicle / R. Michael Semple Veteran school bus driver Roy Spencer of Warren, right, communicates with a busload of Lincoln PK-8 school students as he prepares to take them home at the end of the school day Wednesday. In the front row seat are E’mari Edmonds, 13, an eighth-grader, by window, and Cardel Trice, 10, a fifth-grader. The Warren City School District outsources some of its bus routes because of a driver shortage.

The Warren City School District is outsourcing to a private company the school bus routes the district has unsuccessfully struggled to fill with in-house bus drivers.

This week, the transportation supervisor at Jackson-Milton Local School District will be behind the wheel delivering children to school and back, filling a vacant school bus route created when a driver retired in late December. There are no other substitute drivers to fill the gap.

And some local school districts like Weathersfield Local Schools now require non-teaching new hires — even those employed as cafeteria workers and custodians — to also get a Commercial Driver’s License so they can fill in as a substitute bus driver in a pinch.

These are just a few of the creative methods local school districts are using to combat the growing challenge of school bus driver shortages — a problem not unique to Trumbull and Mahoning counties. School districts throughout the U.S. are reporting struggles finding qualified school bus drivers, a challenge that has worsened with low unemployment and a strong economy.

For parents and students, the shortage can mean longer waits for a ride to school and more crowded buses.

The shortage stems from a variety of factors, including limited work hours and high barriers to entry. Drivers generally need a commercial driver’s license, or CDL, which requires training, sometimes without pay, said Mike Martin, executive director of the National Association of Pupil Transportation.

“Unless you have something to fill in the gaps (between drives), you can’t make the money you need to support your family,” Martin said. “These days, most people are looking for some kind of regular, full-time hours.”

Warren City Schools Superintendent Steve Chiaro agreed with that assessment, noting that bus drivers basically work two shifts — 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and then return at 1:30 p.m. for afternoon runs.

Add in after-school athletics and Chiaro said his buses run 12 or 13 hours each day.

Simply put, he said, “We need drivers.”

Right now, the Warren City Schools district has just 15 bus drivers on the payroll to fill 25 routes, said Mike Wasser, the district’s executive director of business operations.

“With only 15 bus drivers, we are using 10 substitute bus drivers a day through Community busing,” Wasser said, referring to community Bus Services, a private local busing company.

“This is an ongoing problem for many school districts. Every district (official) I have ever spoken with has said they are in a similar situation,” Chiaro said.

Howland Local Schools Superintendent Kevin Spicher said it is a “constant battle.” He said Howland doesn’t have its own substitute bus drivers, and, in fact, shares substitutes with other districts. He said sometimes it comes down to which district can secure a substitute driver first.

“We’ve always managed to have other employees step up and drive a bus to make sure kids get home in a timely manner,” Spicher said.

Howland drivers do receive a yearly increase in pay the first five years, Spicher said, but the district does not offer health benefits, which can be a deterrant to those interested in the position.

Weathersfield and Southington school districts have come to rely on dual-position employees, requiring new hires to obtain a CDL.

“When we get people who want to sub for us, we are making it unclassified so that they can sub for everything — driving, cleaning, cafeteria, secretary, anything — because they can get more time,” said Damon Dohar, superintendent for Weathersfield Local Schools. “They still need a CDL license to be a substitute driver and we also have to follow union requirements, but those are trumped by the state’s requirements.”

Requirements for driving a school bus include holding a Class B CDL, completing a physical and passing BCI / FBI background checks, according to the Ohio Department of Education’s website. The process can cost $250 to $350, often out of the applicant’s pocket.

“A lot of issues I see is that people aren’t passing the CDL test and when they do, they don’t pass the drug test or BCI / FBI tests,” Dohar said.

Darlene Pellin, transportation supervisor for Jackson-Milton Local School District, now is covering a vacant route herself until she can hire another driver. This is the first year that district does not have a substitute driver list, Pellin said.

“We have split routes and doubled-up to get kids home,” she explained. “I have a driver that drives special needs children out of the district then comes back to cover (afternoon) at the elementary.”

In some instances the driver shortage has led that district to adjust starting times for athletic events just to accommodate end-of-the-school-day bus routes.

Earlier this school year, Austintown Local Schools developed “Drop ‘n Go” routes, where multiple stops are combined into one — at apartment complexes, for instance — enabling the bus time to return to the school quickly to start a second route.

Austintown Superintendent Vincent Colaluca said his district also has begun offering incentives to drivers and opportunities to achieve free CDL training and license. “All we ask in return is at least a one-year contract to drive for us,” Colaluca said. “We are continuing to work on it. With the incentives, drivers can make up to $20 an hour. But it’s tough because this isn’t a full-time job, and we are very thankful for the drivers we have — they are a vital part of the family.”

Officials with Warren City Schools say they are planning a job fair later this month to attract both bus drivers and other potential district employees.

Even those districts not affected by the shortage are seeing a decrease in applicants and are shoring up training efforts in preparation.

Lordstown Local School District bus driver Rick Pellin said with his district having a smaller enrollment, there are fewer, easier-to-learn routes and drivers transport smaller groups of children. But he understands the challenges that could come with combining routes, including the frustrations for parents and students.

“On any day (other districts) combine a route, the parents get upset because the kids are getting home 25 minutes late, or the bus is coming from a different direction, or the kids have to walk from a secondary bus stop,” Pellin said.

Driving a school bus for five years, Pellin said he started as a substitute with Western Reserve in Berlin Center because a driver shortage there was affecting his kids’ school day.

“I finally got to the point where I realized this is probably something I could help out with,” he said.

Now Pellin is training to become a certified onboard bus instructor. He said having an instructor in the district will expedite the training process for new hires and get qualified drivers on the road faster when they’re needed. He said there are challenges associated with driving a school bus — from the physical and mental requirements, to learning to maneuver the large buses in tight spots and sometimes even dealing with unruly children.

“You’re responsible for all the things that a normal driver would be, then you add the distraction of the kids — and they’re not behaving the way they would even in a classroom,” he said, noting drivers are in a position where they don’t face the children.

Still, he says he finds the job worthwhile.

“It’s pretty rewarding when you see them go from a little first-grader who has no clue to somebody who is aware of themselves,” he said.

Tribune Chronicle reporters Bob Coupland, Christina Ramey, Beth Shiller and Allie Vugrincic and The Associated Press contributed to this story.