Tuscaloosa Co.’s team of school bus drivers. 9 new members added

TUSCALOOSA COUNTY, Alabama (VBRK) – Thursday was graduation for nearly a dozen school bus drivers in Tuscaloosa County.

Given the nationwide shortage of school bus drivers, this latest round of drivers will keep the school district in good shape for the rest of this school year.

Nine drivers completed their training Thursday and are ready to hit the road in just a few days.

Tuscaloosa County High School football and baseball coach Casey Clark has just begun his new duties.

“It was pretty overwhelming the first day,” Coach Clark said.

This was 18 days ago. Clark and his classmates have now passed their driving tests and are joining Tuscaloosa County’s team of 250 school bus drivers.

Transportation Coordinator Craig Henson says the new team members join the current roster of bus drivers, which is a huge relief for Henson, who is constantly training and hiring each year as part of an ongoing shortage of school bus drivers across the country.

“I would say we have two routes that are not completely full going into the Christmas break, which is going to be great,” Henson said.

“I’m excited,” Coach Clark said.

Very happy because Clark says he will use his new certification primarily to encourage his teams to play on the road. One thing he learned during his training is that buses are heavy, 30,000 pounds, and it always requires his full attention.

“The only thing I ever pulled out in my life was a trailer. Given its length, you’d think it would look like a trailer, but it doesn’t. But it’s fun,” Coach Clark said.

With 13,000 students a day and more than two million miles driven annually, new school bus drivers are embarking on a new adventure.

Transport co-ordinator Craig Henson says the next training course will begin in February.

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