Battle Creek Public Schools Warn Of Major Transportation Problem

Battle Creek Public Schools is warning parents that there is a major problem in getting their kids to school, beginning Wednesday.

The district’s transportation partner, Dean Transportation, alerted school authorities of a driver shortage that will impact transportation on the first day of school and beyond.

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In a release Saturday afternoon, school spokesman Nathan Hunt stated that around 700 students will be without regularly scheduled bus transportation when school starts on Wednesday. He says they are doing everything they can to find a way to make sure every student has a way to get to school.

Battle Creek Public Schools is working urgently to hire drivers at $18-$21 per hour with a signing bonus of up to $750. Temporary solutions include later pickup and drop-off times, or support from community organizations.

School authorities say they are currently focusing on:

• Getting the word out to affected families, through phone calls, mailers, and social media.
• Launching a community-wide effort to recruit new bus drivers. Bus driver positions offer $18-$21 per hour, a signing bonus of up to $750, a full benefits position, and more.
• Activating our network of community partners and supporters.
• The district is also hiring for unfilled teacher positions, and support staff roles that do not require teacher certification.

Individuals interested in bus driving positions can apply online. If working as a support staff member sounds more to your liking, you can click this link to find a listing of a large variety of positions.

Superintendent Kimberly Carter said, “We hope that these competitive wages and benefits and paid on-the-job training will encourage community members who may be out of work due to COVID-19 to consider becoming school bus drivers. In this time when drivers are so sorely needed to help our community’s children get to school and learn, driving a school bus is one of the greatest services anyone could do for our community.”