The start of the 2026-2027 school year is less than a month away for many area public school districts, which means time is running out to fill critical bus driver positions.
A survey of public school districts conducted in May by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce shows communities across the state face persistent bus driver shortages.
On average, local districts filled just over 14% of vacant school bus driving jobs during the 2025-2026 school year, resulting in a lack of adequate transportation for students in many communities.
Some districts are getting creative in their pitches to potential new drivers in order to avoid that situation.
The Forest Hills School District is hosting a Drive-a-Bus recruiting event this Saturday at Nagel Middle School to give people an opportunity to get behind the wheel of one of its school buses, no experience or special license required.
The school district's Director of Business Operations, John Eckert, says navigating roadways on a large bus full of students can sound intimidating, so the event pairs people with experienced drivers to show how approachable the job can be.
"We've had some people drive in in dinky little cars saying they could never drive it, and they had a blast driving through the parking lot," he told WVXU.
Forest Hills also hosted the event before and ended up hiring some new drivers from it. Eckert is hoping for similar results this weekend.
He says school bus drivers are crucial to keeping school districts operating at a high level. While schools always need good teachers and curriculum, if students aren't getting to the classroom on time, they can't learn.
Because the job is so critical, Eckert says staff working in the district's transportation office often have to make up for a lack of drivers by driving the buses themselves.
"There are many, many times where this office has to empty out, including Richard Porter, my transportation coordinator and director, and all the office staff, and the mechanics, " Eckert says.
That's not uncommon. A survey of nearly a third of the state's public school districts by The Ohio Association of Pupil Transportation last fall revealed that close to 22% of districts have their transportation administrators personally cover bus routes daily. Another 28% said administrators cover routes a few times a week. More than a third of respondents say this extra responsibility has significantly increased the time school employees spend in the office.
Forest Hills is looking to hire roughly five new full-time drivers for this fall, and even more part-time substitute drivers to fill in when needed. Eckert says if people like the experience of driving a school bus, the district will cover the cost associated with obtaining a Commercial Driver's License so they can be ready to transport students as soon as possible.
The Drive-a-Bus runs from 9 AM until 12 PM. All people need to bring is a regular, valid driver's license.
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