Schools filling holes left by substitute teachers, bus driver shortages
Regular classroom teachers and administrators are plugging holes left by a severe shortage in substitute teachers, a condition likely exacerbated by COVID-19.
At the same time, school secretaries and school bus mechanics are driving bus routes caused by a shortage of bus drivers, and occasionally parents have had to get their kids to school by other means, according to area school superintendents.
Crestwood Superintendent Dave Toth said the substitute teacher shortage, while exacerbated by COVID-19, is really a harbinger of a much more serious problem that’s been growing in recent years: a lack of college students entering the teaching field.
Sub shortages and the impending teacher shortage
Toth said the search for substitute teachers has become more desperate of late in Ohio.
“All you needed was a bachelor’s degree,” he said. “The state of Ohio said this year all you need is a high school diploma and to pass a background check.”
Even with that, he said, the substitute teacher shortage persists. Crestwood is part of a consortium that shares a roster of substitute teachers, but there just aren’t enough to go around.
“I just can’t raise my pay rate,” he said. “There’s just not bodies.”
According to an article by the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning public policy research and advocacy organization, “total enrollment nationwide in teacher preparation programs has declined by more than one-third; this decline has occurred in the context of increasing enrollment in bachelor’s degree programs nationwide over the same time period. This means that across the country, approximately 340,000 fewer students elected to enroll in teacher preparation programs in the 2016-17 academic year—the latest year for which data are available — compared with the number of students who enrolled in 2008-09.”
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Ravenna Superintendent Dr. Laura Hebert said her district is “being as creative as possible” in trying to find ways to overcome the substitute teachers shortage.
“A student teacher can sub,” she said. “If they graduate in December, we’re talking to them about wanting to sub the rest of the school year.”
Aurora Superintendent Mike Roberto said COVID-19 has made finding enough substitute teachers more difficult.
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“Though we have a typical number of substitute teachers available as compared to other years, there is a larger number of substitutes needed due to isolation and quarantine requirements … which are added on to the typical absences due to illness, professional development or curriculum revisions. The net result is we are shortage subs this year as compared to pre-pandemic conditions.”
Like Hebert, Roberto said he’s reaching out to the community to find substitute teachers.
“We have been able to tap into new college graduates who are education majors, but also those who are not education majors who want to turn to Aurora,” he said. “We have also increased our sub pay to help attract new subs to our district, though everyone is having a hard time finding subs.”
Kent Superintendent George Joseph said his district needs about 15 to 20 additional substitute teachers, ideally.
“Out of 3,300 students and a staff of about 500, we have about 26 to 20 staff members who are out on a given day,” he said. “Many times, we are lucky if we have 12 to 15 subs. We could have them work every single day. If they wanted to make it a full-time job, they could.”
Bus driver shortage causes logistical headaches
Hebert said that both bus driver and substitute teacher shortages are “very serious.”
“We usually have sub drivers available to us every day,” she said. “We sometimes have to combine bus routes so we end up with fewer bus drivers, but that takes a toll on our timing.”
She said it also means buses are more full of students at a time when emptier buses would be healthier.
Toth said Crestwood has “been lucky” when it comes to the bus driver shortage, although the district is seeking people with CLD licenses to help out.
“When a person’s out sick, we’ve got mechanics and secretaries subbing,” he said.
Toth and Joseph both said they’re recruiting people to drive by offering to help pay for their CDL licenses.
“People need a CDL license, Class B with a passenger endorsement,” Joseph said. “If that have that, we’ll gladly train them and provide assistance to get their certificate.”
Joseph said the drivers often have to split routes when another driver is out sick and substitutes are not available. More bus drivers are needed to help provide coverage for sports teams traveling to out-of-town games and other field trips.
“I would say, if we could have five to 10 drivers just for field trips, that would really help us,” he said. “Right now, we are sending buses late; we’re not getting to athletic contests on time. Sometimes these away games become home games when we can’t go.”
And vice versa.
Sal Arquilla, director of facilities, maintenance and operations at Aurora City Schools, said the bus driver shortage is a nationwide phenomenon.
“It has been very difficult to obtain more drivers,” he said. “We have had to replace 19 drivers since COVID started. We have other employees that can help out. The mechanics, supervisor and dispatcher all drive when needed.”
Getting a new driver trained and licensed is a lengthy process, he added.
“If they come to us without a CDL in hand, it can take a couple of months to get them qualified to drive,” said Arquilla. “They have to prepare to take the CDL exam, then sit in on a five-day class given through the Ohio Department of Education, then take a physical, and [go through] background checks and pre-employment drug tests.”
Aquilla said another challenge is keeping bus drivers because there are so many other full-time positions available elsewhere.
“You have to find the right applicant that wants a split shift,” he said. “Many times, it’s parents or retirees. We are competing against every other school district in the area.”
Joseph and Hebert acknowledged this is a risk inherent in training people to get their CDL licenses. It’s always possible a would-be bus driver may decide to take another driving job.
“You take a risk if you do that because if you do, they could get the CDL and drive for PARTA,” said Hebert. “Our bus drivers are a great group. They voluntarily took food to each bus stop for the last two weeks. The whole world is facing a shortage. We’re not alone; it’s just that these shortages impact kids.”
Reporter Bob Gaetjens can be reached at 330-541-9440, [email protected] or @bobgaetjens_rc.
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