Schools facing bus driver crisis — Eight routes across the Crook County have no driver for next school year

SUNDANCE — The Crook County School District is facing a crisis over the lack of available bus drivers.

With some routes already lacking drivers and retirements coming up soon, the three transportation coordinators who direct the county’s bus routes have reached the position where they are combining routes or driving themselves.

Stretched so thin, they worry that there is nothing left in reserve in the event of an emergency.

The district is putting out the call to anyone who might be interested in becoming a bus driver, either by taking on a route or becoming a substitute driver to cover sickness, busy times and other eventualities.

Current Situation

All three campuses are facing shortages. At this time, CCSD anticipates there will be five drivers retiring or leaving at the end of this school year.

During the next school year in Hulett, said Transportation Coordinator Deb Bush, three of the five routes will be open. In Moorcroft, said Transportation Coordinator Janell DeBeau, four of the eight routes will not have a driver.

Transportation Coordinator Deb Davis anticipates one of the nine routes serving Sundance will be without a driver.

Options are limited to alleviate these shortages. Combining routes can be difficult due to the logistics of a rural area like Crook County, where buses are traveling long distances out of town.

In addition, if students are on a route, even if they aren’t on the bus, there needs to be a space available for them.

“You have to have a seat on the bus for every student that’s on your route,” said Bush.

At the moment, coordinators say it’s hard to see how they will get every kid to school on an ordinary day, let alone when life gets in the way.

“When the bus drivers get sick or need surgery, we don’t have subs to cover them,” said Sherri Moeller, Human Resources.

DeBeau is already in a critical position, she said.

“I already combined two routes. I do one, I have one more route that I can split in an absolute emergency but I don’t have a bus big enough to put them all on,” she said.

“I’ve already had to cancel activities going out because I don’t have the subs to cover the routes.”

Worst Case Scenario

A lack of bus drivers can have a big impact on a school and its community. Already, coordinators say, it has been necessary to cancel activities outside the district such as sports trips, because the main routes have to take priority.

Should the shortage continue into the next school year, cancellations could continue or escalate.

If the shortages lead to a situation where not all the main routes can be run, the district will have no choice but to pay isolation and mileage for parents to bring their kids to school.

For parents out in the county, this could be a hardship. Moeller uses herself as an example:

When she was a stay-at-home mom, bringing her kids to school would have been almost a 30-mile trip twice a day. After she went back to work, she’s unsure how she could have made it work at all.

The three coordinators work together as much as they can and each is willing to offer a helping hand when possible, but there’s only so much they can do.

“We call each other to see if there’s anybody who can help out, but you have to take care of your own place first,” said Davis.

DuBeau said she is squeaking by right now, “by the skin of my teeth.”

“Deb Bush has been helping me drive routes, Deb Devis has had a driver who has been able to come over and help me,” she said. “Without them, the only way that I can figure I would be able to get these kids to school is to drive the route I’m having to drive on top of my 40-hour-per-week job as a coordinator, and then make another trip out to pick up that route – so they’re going to be late for school. If somebody calls in sick, that’s the situation I’m in.”

Her biggest worry about the lack of back-up options is the scenario that a bus breaks down and there is nobody available to take another bus out to collect the kids.

“If it’s 40 below and I’ve got kids sitting out there because the bus broke down, what are we going to do?” she said.

“I am terrified and I take that responsibility to heart. I couldn’t live with that.”

What Happened?

In 2020, said Moeller, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration changed its regulations, making it more difficult to obtain a commercial driver’s license.

“That’s what started this decline – statewide, nationwide – of CDL drivers,” she said. “There are other districts around us in this exact same situation.”

The changes are actually positive, she notes – they are safety precautions that the district does want. For example, it’s harder to hide an infraction that caused you to lose your CDL in one state when applying for a job in another.

“It’s good – we don’t want those people driving our kids – but it has made it harder,” Moeller said.

Obtaining a CDL involves both video and behind-the-wheel training, as well as WYDOT requirements. Realistically, said Moeller, it takes a minimum of two or three weeks to complete the training, background check and pre-employment drug test.

Calling All Drivers

If you are interested in becoming a bus driver or substitute, CCSD would like to hear from you.

“We have an appreciation for all our bus drivers and coordinators because, a lot of times, that’s the first person that kid sees when they leave their home and the last one before they go home,” said Moeller.

“It starts the day off great and helps them a lot.”

Bus drivers typically work 20 hours per week running routes in the morning and early evening. Drivers who transport kids to activities are also needed in the evenings and at the weekend.

In the past, said Moeller, the role has worked well for moms, people who work from home, ranchers and retired people.

“Even if they didn’t want to do the full commitment for a route, being a substitute driver [would help],” said DuBeau. All three coordinators would like to build teams of subs who can step in at busy times or when regular drivers are unable to work.

As a bonus incentive, CCSD offers a $1500 stipend to new drivers after they have driven for the district for 60 hours.

The stipend is intended as a reimbursement for the driver’s time spent training, WYDOT physical and other potential costs.

Applications are available at crook1.schoolspring.com. Starting pay is $19.57 per hour, including wait time at activities.

If you have questions about the role, current needs or anything else to do with driving a bus, contact DuBeau in Moorcroft at 307-290-2625, Davis in Sundance at 307-290-0097 or Bush in Hulett at 307-290-0535.

This story was published on Feb. 12, 2026.