THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 26, 1996 TAG: 9610260229
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 121 lines
Allen Basnight starts his work day at 5:30 in the morning, answering the calls of Virginia Beach school bus drivers who can't make their run that day. Half an hour later, substitute drivers are supposed to call to find out where they'll be filling in.
But lately, the first calls have outnumbered the second so badly that practically anyone in the schools' transportation office with the necessary license has had to fill in. There just aren't enough substitutes to go around.
``This is the worst,'' said Basnight, who has been with the system for 32 years. ``It's absolutely the worst.''
The city's schools are suffering from an acute shortage of substitute bus drivers - a list that usually has 30 to 35 names on it has shrunk to nine. And other South Hampton Roads districts are having similar problems as a national trend hits home.
``I've got secretaries driving buses, I've got mechanics driving buses,'' said David Pace, director of the Beach schools' office of transportation services. ``All of us (who are qualified) are driving.''
The problem is also bad in Suffolk, where rapid growth has meant adding buses.
``Our most critical need is bus drivers and substitute bus drivers,'' said Suffolk schools' spokeswoman Bethanne Bradshaw.
And in Portsmouth, transportation coordinator Gerard Gavin said 40 hours' worth of training classes that begin with 30 people might end with 10.
``A lot of people don't want to put that time in,'' he said.
The problem is being seen nationwide. From Maryland to Georgia to Kansas and beyond, school districts are trying to lure drivers, but financial and societal realities seem to pull harder. A stronger economy, for example, has opened up different opportunities to people who previously might have pursued a bus-driving job.
Even some of the school officials who hire and supervise the drivers concede that the salary and benefits have always been marginal at best. What's more, increasing regulations require drug testing and criminal background checks. And some people balk at committing to 40 hours of training before the job even begins.
Of course, not everyone is suited to driving an enormous vehicle through narrow side streets and winding country roads while the 60-voice chorale version of ``He's looking at me!'' swells in the background.
``It's one of those kinds of jobs that takes a special person,'' said Pace.
A person like Mary Zepnikowski.
Nineteen years ago, Zepnikowski began driving a Virginia Beach school bus, happy that the job allowed her to take her two young children along.
Her children are grown now. But Miss Mary - as the children call her - continues to steer a school bus from 6:45 a.m., when she picks up the first Tallwood High School students, until 7 p.m., when the last riders on her activity-bus route arrive home.
In between, she takes young people to and from College Park Elementary School and Brandon Middle School.
``If I'm not doing field trips in the middle of the day, I'm training new drivers when we have them to train,'' she said.
To Miss Mary, the appeal of the job has to be more than money.
``You do it for the love,'' she said. ``It has to be.''
Zepnikowski said there are days when the students file onto the bus and ``you feel they've had too much candy to eat.''
But she added, ``It's not hard to keep them under control. I have good students.''
Officials in Virginia Beach and other South Hampton Roads school districts hope that kind of attitude spreads and the applicant pool for substitute-driver jobs grows.
Virginia Beach, which is also looking for cafeteria and custodial substitutes, has an added burden when it looks for substitutes to support its 520 contract drivers. Unlike other local divisions, the Beach requires applicants to pay the cost of fingerprinting and a background check.
Including the required tuberculosis test and other expenses, it costs $52 to get on the list as a prospective substitute in Virginia Beach, more than other area districts.
A substitute who drives three routes a day in the Beach earns $27.20. A contracted driver makes between $3,348 and $14,631 annually, depending on experience and the number of routes driven.
But the job also has special benefits. Qualified applicants are trained at division expense to earn their commercial drivers license. They are allowed to take their own preschool children with them once they're subbing - as long as the kids are properly secured in car seats - and whenever possible, they are given runs in their neighborhoods.
And, perhaps most attractive, strong performance as a substitute can be a stepping stone to permanent employment.
``There are people out there who can do the job, who are willing to do the job,'' said John Kalocay, assistant superintendent for administrative support services in Virginia Beach. ``We definitely need some help.'' ILLUSTRATION: SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS
The growing number of Hampton Roads students and a shrinking number
of bus drivers has created problems for schools.
Virginia's requirements for school bus drivers:
1) Pass a physical examination
2) Have a safe driving record
3) Provide a reference letter
4) Possess a commercial driver's license (school districts will
train applicants for this)
5) Be at least 18
6) Pass a drug test
In addition, school districts may choose to run a criminal
background check.
SOURCE: State Department of Education and the Virginia Beach
Public Schools
WANT TO HELP?
If you're interested in a job:
Virginia Beach:
(757) 427-4781
Norfolk:
(757) 441-2717
Suffolk:
(757) 925-5500
Chesapeake:
(757) 547-0001
Portsmouth:
(757) 393-8751
KEYWORDS: EDUCATION SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS by CNB