Lawler Wants State List Of School Bus Drivers On Unemployment

RAMAPO, NY — A statewide shortage of school bus drivers has created a local crisis, and NY Assemblyman Mike Lawler wants the National Guard to step in.

"I’m calling on Governor Kathy Hochul to call up the National Guard to act as emergency school bus drivers in districts across New York State, until the bus driver shortage can be resolved," he said Tuesday. "Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker just took this measure to help school districts there impacted by the same problem."

New York is short nearly 20 percent of the bus drivers needed, according to estimates from trade groups including the School Bus Contractors Association. The problem isn't new, but the pandemic has exacerbated it.

Lawler also demanded the New York State Department of Labor provide school districts with lists of eligible bus drivers who are currently on unemployment or are not working.

"They refused to do so earlier in the summer when I asked them to provide a list to the bus company serving the East Ramapo Central School District," he said.

The purpose of having the state provide a list of unemployed drivers with CDL licenses and “S” certifications in the area around the district would be so the district or bus contractor could reach out directly to drivers in an effort to fill gaps in the workforce.

"It’s absolutely critical that we get these drivers back to work now and ensure that each and every child across the state has the ability to get to and from school safely," he said.

East Ramapo in particular is suffering from a lack of drivers, and hundreds of parents showed up Monday to complain, The Journal News reported. There, about 1 in 9 of the 9,000 public-school students lack transportation while 1 in 30 of the 30,000 yeshiva students in the district are affected, according to the paper.

"For many working families across the 97th Assembly District, busing is of critical importance and allows parents to go to work without having to worry about whether or not their child will get to and back from school," Lawler said. "The fact that this is in doubt anywhere is simply inexcusable."

The problem, which is longstanding, has to do with the aging driver workforce, the training and certification and the part-time wages as well as the pandemic — during which many drivers took delivery jobs while schools were closed, TJN reported.