St. Johns Schools Open Monday About 70 Bus Drivers Short. Expect Double Runs and Late Pickups.

St. Johns County students return to class Monday, Aug. 10, with the school district roughly 70 bus drivers short, which means some buses will run two neighborhoods (in a few cases three) before getting to school. Superintendent Dr. Brennan Asplen said in an Aug. 3 televised interview that families should plan on delays, especially through the first couple of weeks.

The arithmetic is simple and unforgiving. The district owns 325 buses. It has about 275 people licensed to drive them.

About 40 double runs are built into the schedule across those roughly 3,600 stops. Asplen described how it works: a bus picks up its first load at the scheduled time, drops those students, then swings back to a second neighborhood for another 50 to 70 kids and tries to get everyone through the door before the bell.

That is the part parents will feel. A doubled route leaves no slack. One late pickup, one wreck on a two-lane road, one new driver still learning the turns, and the second run slides.

What families can do Monday morning

The district runs a bus-tracking app called Chipmunk that shows routes in real time, and Asplen encouraged families to use it rather than guessing at the curb. He also warned that times will move. The district adjusts routes for efficiency once it sees what the real ridership looks like, so a pickup time that holds on Monday may shift by the following week.

Asplen said he expects things to settle into a rhythm within two to three weeks.

The job pays up to $26.36 an hour

The district is actively hiring, and the pitch is aimed squarely at people who have never driven a bus. St. Johns County schools will pay for your CDL Class B training, including the passenger and school bus endorsements, according to the district's transportation jobs page.

Posted pay for bus operators runs from $17.50 to $26.36 per hour depending on experience, on top of a $5,000 signing bonus. The calendar is 180 work days plus six paid holidays, with medical, dental and vision coverage and enrollment in the Florida Retirement System. Bus attendants, who ride along to help students and the driver, start at $15 an hour.

Requirements are a U.S. license held for the past five consecutive years, a clean driving record, a background check, a drug screen and a physical. Applications and a recruiter contact form are posted on the district's transportation jobs page.

Pay is not the whole story here. Asplen credited the voter-approved referendum with helping the district hold onto the drivers it already has, and he said retention has held up. Enrollment simply keeps outrunning the roster.

Growth is slowing, but not stopping

After years of annual enrollment growth in the 4 to 4.5 percent range, St. Johns County came in around 1.5 percent this past year, and Asplen expects a similar figure again. The district opened two new schools this year, one in Silverleaf and one in Nocatee, both planned back when the projections were steeper.

With the slowdown, Asplen said he does not expect another K-8 or elementary-middle school in the near term. A new high school in Silverleaf is still coming, and he put it about three years out.

Teachers were back Tuesday, Aug. 4, for pre-planning, and the School Board met that same morning for a workshop at the Orange Street auditorium in St. Augustine. Routes and times can change through the first weeks of school, so check the app before you walk to the stop.

For more coverage of St. Johns County schools, visit St. Johns Community Website and browse our education stories. Follow us on Facebook for updates through the first week of school, and if your bus was late (or right on time), join the conversation in our Community Forum.