Houston ISD looks to hire new bus drivers with bonus incentives for first hundred candidates
HOUSTON - Like many industries plagued with staffing challenges, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) is facing some of its own, specifically for bus drivers.
Dozens of hopeful applicants attended Saturday's job fair looking to become the newest diver for the district.
"What we’re looking for now is basically to make sure we have a surplus of drivers to make sure that if something happens, COVID is still there," said recruiter Javon May. "If we have someone out sick, that we have people to fill in for those drivers."
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The district is offering an incentive. The first 120 candidates who are hired before August 22nd will receive a $2,000 sign-on bonus.
Right now, they're looking to hire 50 drivers, but if these positions aren’t filled by the start of the school year, it could impact many students and their day-to-day lives like, "kids getting to school late, missing breakfast possibly, some of first period. But it could also look like getting home later, but we’re not going to worry about that," said May.
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For the applicants, the appeal is not only to have a stable income but to make any sort of impact on the youth.
"I worked in the medical field for 40-something years, and now I want to change to help children, not just adults, just children," said Ethel Berry, an applicant. " [I'm] just trying to change their mindset because I feel like it’s young people raising young people now."
Dennis Washington, another applicant, echoed the same sentiment.
"It would be fabulous to become a bus driver for HISD because I believe it’s good for the future," he said.
If you missed Saturday's job fair, you’ll have another chance on July 30th at Yates High School from 9 a.m. to noon.