Weston County schools need more staff

Weston County School District No. 1 remains in need of custodial and maintenance employees and two or three bus route drivers, Superintendent Brad LaCroix said at the board’s July 17 meeting.

“My biggest concern as we meet tonight is probably going to be more towards the activity side,” LaCroix said. “We might be able to get by with combining routes, which we’ve done in the past, but the toughest thing to get everyone to realize is, you know, when you have three or four middle school events and two or three high school events, there’s going to have to be some give.”

LaCroix said he also anticipates a possible shortage of referees. He plans to have a talk with activity directors about how to prioritize trips when there is a bus driver shortage, he told the NLJ on July 22. They may need to consolidate routes for activities.

“Your varsity trips are going to have to trump everything else, and instead of maybe three, four middle school activities, you might only be able to do one or two. It’s just, it’s sort of a sign of the times,” he said in the meeting. “The CDL, I think, is getting more and more challenging, but I think staffing patterns in general are not getting any easier.”

A CDL, or commercial drivers’ license with a passenger endorsement, is required for school bus drivers in Wyoming.

Transportation Director Troy Allen said in a phone call on July 22 that the district does CDL training in-house for bus drivers and covers all training and testing expenses. The costs vary based on the individual because the district tailors training to the individual. Applicants complete interviews before taking a written test about the CDL manual. Then, they begin training to learn about the district’s different buses. Two weeks after taking the written test, they can take the skills test. People who have driven big vehicles may only need 30 hours of training, and employees who haven’t might need 40 or more hours of training.

“It all depends on the per-
son and their comfort level,” Allen said.

He said bus drivers undergo drug testing as part of the application process and at random, during their employment. An outside company decides when and whom to test. Sometimes, no district bus drivers are tested, and other months, there may be three or four people who must complete the testing.

LaCroix said that drug testing is one of the challenges for the school district when it comes to filling bus driver positions.

“Many people can’t pass a drug test or want to be randomly tested,” he said.

Allen said the candidates have been hard to come by ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, and he’s not sure exactly why. The district has advertised for bus driver positions in the newspaper and via signage by the transportation building and by the football field.

The district currently has eight full-time bus drivers, he said. Many of them are older and retired.

“I think a lot of it is that they love kids, and it’s their way of connecting and giving back to the community,” Allen said.

Last year, the district combined four routes into two, to have eight routes, down from 10 in previous years, according to Allen. In addition to the eight full-time drivers, the district has substitute drivers.

Allen said he thinks people may find it intimidating to drive a bus, because of the vehicle’s size, but the district supports drivers, and they get used to it.

“I remember when I started, it was the same way, like, ‘Holy cow, I can’t do this,’” he said.

But over time, Allen became comfortable with driving a
bus and watching students in the rear view mirror at the same time.

“It all just takes a while to get used to,” he said.

Other WCSD No. 1 News

• LaCroix said that, until July 16, the district had received few teaching applications, but that afternoon they received two elementary school teaching applications. Those positions remain open, however, LaCroix reported on July 22.

“It’s going to be a week-to-week kind of a basis on whether we’re going to be able to meet those demands,” he said.

• At the meeting, the board approved adding JoDee Irons as a custodian and Tracy Gale as a bus route driver. Marilyn Lunney has resigned from her position as a bus route driver, and Alondra Munoz moved from teaching third grade to teaching second grade. The board also approved hiring Renee Cudney to be a kitchen assistant.