Williamson County: If You Will Drive A Bus, We'll Educate Your Kids

FRANKLIN, TN — Williamson County Schools are short about 20 bus drivers. Neither wage increases nor signing bonuses have generated enough recruits, so the district is adding another kicker.

If someone agrees to drive a school bus for the system, their child can attend Williamson County Schools without paying the standard tuition for out-of-county students.

“It is about $3,800 a year that we are going to waive for a potential bus driver that would want to bring their children with them to school,” Williamson County Schools superintendent Mike Looney told WKRN.

That's on top of full benefits and a salary of $13,000. The district is so strapped for drivers, it is not even requiring applicants to have a commercial drivers license. So long as a potential driver has a valid license and can pass a background check, Williamson County Schools will help them pass the CDL test, the TV station reports.

Williamson County operates the state's eighth largest school bus fleet and its schools are regularly ranked as among the best public schools in Tennessee.

“It gives them opportunity to provide something that we hope would be a benefit to the family,” school member Candy Emerson told WKRN.. “They’re in the best district in the state of Tennessee. The caliber of the education is not surpassable.”

Image via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.