Greenwood bus driver Mike Curtis prepares to pick up students on Friday at the Greenwood Community Schools Transportation Center. Scott Roberson | Daily Journal

Since the start of school a month ago, students at some local schools have been as much as 30 minutes late to school, or an hour late getting home, but it’s not their fault.

A national school bus driver shortage is on full display locally. It is an issue schools have been grappling with for years, but the coronavirus pandemic has worsened it.

The problem isn’t limited to Johnson County or Indiana. A March survey by school ride-service company HopSkipDrive found 80% of school districts nationwide had bus driver shortages.

At Greenwood schools, custodians and mechanics are driving buses. The district started the school year with about 80% of positions filled. The district filled a couple of those positions with other staff rather than new hires, said Mike Hildebrand, transportation director.

“We at Greenwood have always had a shortage,” Hildebrand said. “Everyone is in the same boat. I’ve asked for subs in southern Indianapolis, from Perry Township, and they are in the same situation.”

The pandemic exacerbated the shortage due to both quarantine protocols and older drivers who have decided it’s not worth the health risk, said Sarah Poynter, a bus driver at Greenwood schools for about a year.

“COVID has to do with it. When you have to go out and get tested, it creates even more of a shortage. Some people just don’t want to go to work,” Poynter said.

The shortage has caused Greenwood buses to run between 35 and 40 minutes late because they’re running multiple routes each morning, said Peggy Daeger, who has 35 years of experience driving school buses.

Franklin schools, fully staffed, would have about 75 drivers. On a good day this year, it had about 70. When drivers are out due to quarantine, sickness or vacation, the district can be 11 or 12 drivers short, said Jeff Sewell, director of operations.

“At times, there are too many drivers out,” Sewell said. “Sometimes (students get to school) within the normal start time … Sometimes we have to call families and say, ‘the bus is running 15 or 30 minutes late.’ Students are not getting to school on time.”

Franklin schools routinely post on social media that buses are running late.

To address the shortage, administrators raised bus driver pay to competitive rates, with new drivers making $89.30 for each 4 ½ hour day, and more experienced ones making $115 to $120, Sewell said.

Still, there are no easy answers.

“There’s not much we can do,” he said. “We’re constantly evaluating our pay structure to make sure we’re competitive with neighboring schools and peer group schools. We’re just having trouble finding people who want to do it.”

With fewer drivers, there are fewer buses on the road, which can make it more difficult to contact trace and keep drivers and students out of quarantine, Hildebrand said.

Greenwood schools sometimes has 70 students on a 72-person bus when drivers have to cover extra shifts, making it difficult to socially distance, Poynter said.

Not all districts were hit quite as hard, though.

At Clark-Pleasant schools, administrators starting recruiting early to bolster the fleet of drivers, said Michael Akers, transportation director.

“We are fully staffed and have a couple of subs. We worked hard over the summer. We had a couple job fairs. We worked hard last spring and fall to recruit applicants. When you get them recruited and hired, you got to train them. Very few applicants come to you with credentials,” Akers said.

“We’re fighting COVID like everyone else. You turn around and there’s a driver out for two weeks. People pitch in: office staff, mechanics, a couple subs. We’re lucky not to scale back services like other school corporations.”