The return to a normal school year has come with many challenges. In New Jersey, staff shortages are plaguing the start of the 2021-2022 school year while administration struggles to fill these vacant positions.
For BHS, bus driver and substitute positions have been affected most by this issue. In an interview with BHS Vice Principal, Dr. Corbett stated that “both SHSD and the bus company that [BHS] contracts with have had great difficulty finding bus drivers.”
Bus driver demand, however, is not only isolated to our district. According to apnews.com, in a recent national survey, “80% of districts that responded were having trouble finding enough bus drivers.” Dr. Corbett does not know the specific reasons for a lack of bus drivers, but is aware that the pandemic is a contributing factor.
He emphasizes that “bus drivers are often paid by the hour and when many schools went virtual over the course of the pandemic, drivers’ hours were greatly reduced.” Being a bus driver has been, and continues to be, a highly fluctuating and unreliable job; thus, many of these workers have looked elsewhere for steady employment.
As for substitutes, Dr. Corbett stresses that BHS does not “have nearly as many substitutes as [they] have had in previous years.” Similar to bus driver positions, substitute staff shortages are not confined to our district.
New Jersey schools have been struggling to fill these positions prior to the pandemic, and the challenges and uncertainties of this past year have made this issue increasingly worse. Dr. Corbett stated that a multitude of factors could be causing this shortage with a prominent contributor being “some people do not want to work in a school because they are concerned about their health.”
BHS has had to be creative in the ways they accommodate these staff shortages. Current teachers have been filling in for their co-workers’ absences, and BHS has hired bus drivers from other companies and schools. Additionally, advertisements on the SHSD website and the Friday Folder have attempted to recruit workers for these positions.
Dr. Corbett emphasizes that staff shortages are “a problem across the U.S. and [are] not unique to our school district.” BHS has done everything, and will continue to do everything in their power to adjust to this challenging school year.
