![]() Sandlin, who lives in Enon and is retired from a career with the State of Ohio, said being a bus driver often means being the first staff member some students see every day - and that it’s important to help set the tone for those students’ school day. “And I really feel that I have relationships that are just as strong, if not stronger, with my kids on the bus, because I see them every day - they’ve become part of my family,” he said. ![]() “He told me about relationships he’d made with kids as a driver - sometimes lifetime relationships.”Ī former 35-year guidance counselor who previously worked in Springfield and Kettering schools, Whetsel said an important aspect of his counseling was forming strong bonds with students. “My grandfather was a bus driver,” he said. Whetsel, a local resident, said part of the reason he elected to become a school bus driver was a family connection to the job. “I’m Tim One - he’s Tim Two,” Sandlin said with a laugh. Because Sandlin’s tenure is longer, it affords him a particular naming privilege among the Two Tims. Sandlin and Whetsel have been district bus drivers for 13 years and five years, respectively. The News spoke to both drivers by phone this week. Yellow Springs students are shepherded to and from school every week by the Two Tims - bus drivers Tim Sandlin and Tim Whetsel. Those rates are also higher than some nearby school districts according to the Dayton Public Schools Human Resources website, substitute drivers average $18 an hour, and full-time drivers $20.80 an hour. YS Schools’ pay for bus drivers trends higher than the national average as reported in personnel schedules at school board meetings in August, October and November, hourly rates for substitute bus drivers have averaged around $19 per hour, and for full-time drivers, around $24.50. With this in mind - and to ensure that students have “the best care en route to school and home” - Holden noted that the school district has made a “consistent effort to stay competitive with wages” with regard to bus driver positions. ![]() Employment marketplaces ZipRecruiter and Indeed and human resources management company report the national average hourly pay for school bus drivers ranges from $17 to $21. National news reports have cited pay as one issue affecting the school bus driver shortage. Ideally, however, the district would have three or four full-time drivers and two or three substitute drivers on its staff, Holden said. Holden said the district has been “strategic” in allaying school bus service interruption by making sure the district has “several staff members who are appropriately licensed to cover routes when needed.” Those staff members currently serve as substitute drivers on one of the district’s three bus routes. Our bus pool is small, so when we have an absence, it puts a strain on other departments.” “However, we also have employee attrition just like any other school district. “Throughout the years, Yellow Springs Schools has had a wonderful and dedicated transportation staff,” Superintendent Terri Holden told the News via email this week. The district currently employs two full-time drivers to handle the three bus routes that ferry students every school day, as well as to and from field trips and sporting events. ![]() Though the Yellow Springs School District hasn’t seen interruptions in providing bus services to students, the local district is not immune to the nationwide shortage. ![]()
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