P-J photo by Katrina Fuller

BEMUS POINT — Local school districts continue to struggle with bus driver shortages, and the Bemus Point Central School District is no exception.

The district, in direct relation to the bus driver shortage, is hosting a “Drive A Bus” event at Maple Grove High School at 4 p.m. Wednesday in an attempt to give possible bus driver candidates a chance to test it out.

“We are trying to think outside the box because we are desperately running out of options,” said Bemus Point Superintendent Joseph Reyda. “We’re just trying to think a little bit more creatively. We’ll have our director of transportation Dwayne Dustin there on the bus explaining everything to them. They’re not going to be taking the bus on the road; we have a bus loop that goes around the school. We thought this is just a way for us to give people the chance to get behind the wheel to test it out.”

Reyda said he got the idea from an article in “Onboard” magazine from the New York State School Boards Association that addressed the national shortage of school bus drivers. Currently, Reyda said the district is looking for three bus drivers.

“We have nine runs, and I have exactly nine drivers and one substitute,” he said. “If anybody were to have an appointment or to get ill, it becomes very problematic about how we’re going to pick up the kids. I’m looking for at least three right now. If we had three, we would be a full complement and we could provide everything that we provided in the past. One of the reasons why we’re doing this is right now, we’re having a very difficult time providing a consistent after school program for our kids at Maple Grove.”

Reyda said on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the district holds an after school program at Maple Grove, which requires a bus to pick up the students at 3:30 p.m. However, due to the driver shortage, all drivers are picking up children at the elementary school at that time.

“There’s nobody here to pick up these kids,” he said. “That’s the reason why we’re looking for those three additional drivers.”

Other districts in the area are also facing bus driver shortages. In recent weeks, Cassadaga Valley Central School was unable to transport children to and from school due to the shortages. In October, the district announced that three buses were not able to transport their students. Cassadaga Superintendent Charles Leichner said one bus driver became ill, another had a planned absence and another had a family situation.

“We just didn’t have coverage,” Leichner said.

Falconer Central School District Superintendent Steve Penhollow reported in September that districts across the area and the state “are struggling to keep our rosters filled.”

“Even though we may have the day-to-day stuff covered, sometimes with sickness or illness, getting complete coverage is difficult,” he said. “You try to use as many strategies as possible to fill those open spots, but I think we’re all facing similar issues, some probably worse than others based on location.”

In September, Gov. Kathy Hochul released a plan to address the school bus driver shortage in the state. The plan included ways to “remove barriers and recruit traditional and non-traditional commercial driver’s licenses holders.” The plan also hoped to expand CDL testing opportunities and reach out to “more than 550,000 CDL license holders in New York State.”

“Our schools and public health officials have moved mountains to ensure our children receive an in-person education this year, and we are leaving no stone unturned to make sure schools have adequate bus service to bring students to school and back,” Hochul said. “While the shortage of school bus drivers is not unique to New York State, I have directed state agencies to utilize creative approaches and use every tool at their disposal to help districts affected by the bus driver shortage, so we can bring in as many qualified bus drivers as possible as quickly as possible.”

In the release announcing the plan, Hochul urged school districts to “pursue creative and innovative ways” to recruit bus drivers, including signing and retention bonuses, expansion of benefits, and other options.

Reyda encouraged possible candidates to come to the “Drive A Bus” event on Wednesday and “try it out.”