Though generally unaffected by staffing shortages, Worthington Schools seeks to add bus

Amidst a nationwide shortage of employees that also has affected central Ohio, Worthington Schools officials said the district has a minor need for bus drivers and custodians but is adequately staffed elsewhere.

Jeff Eble, Worthington Schools’ director of business services, said the district wants to add six unassigned bus drivers on top of what it already has but also would hire as many as it could.

Unassigned drivers are full-time drivers who come in every day and are assigned a route, as needed, Eble said.

“To be really safe, we’d like to have 14 or 15 subs or unassigned route drivers,” he said. “We have a hard time getting to that number and maintaining that number.”

Eble said the district employs 77 full-time bus drivers.

The district has not had any issues with bus scheduling thus far due to a lack of drivers, he said.

District bus drivers are required to have a commercial license, and the process to train them and acquire a CDL license if they don’t already have one usually takes 4 to 6 weeks, Eble said.