Bus drivers in Pasco County, Fla., receive extensive training from the school district before they start their jobs. During a six-day class, they learn everything they need to drive a large vehicle. Even with the preparation--which the district pays for and which earns the drivers a commercial driver's license--huge numbers of them leave in the first year or two.

Veteran drivers who are represented by the AFT-affiliated United School Employees of Pasco (USEP) decided they needed to come up with some ways to cut down this huge turnover so that already serious bus driver shortages don't get any worse. One thing the drivers on the union transportation committee concluded is that while the district training is great for teaching someone how to drive an empty bus, it does almost nothing to prepare them to drive a vehicle full of children. "People take these jobs thinking the children will be nice and polite," says Nancy Bolda, a USEP executive board member who chairs the transportation committee. "It's a rude awakening when they get alone with children on the bus for the first time. It can be overwhelming."

To ease this transition, the committee came up with the idea of a mentoring program for new drivers, so the novices could spend a few days on a route with an experienced driver, observing as well as actually driving. The veterans would also be available for periodic follow-up to deal with issues new drivers encountered. "If they had as much time doing that as learning to drive, I think we would retain a lot more drivers," Bolda says. She predicts the union will have no problem getting enough veteran drivers to serve as mentors, but USEP is still working with the district and looking to possible outside grants to fund such a program.

The transportation committee has already implemented another idea designed to help new and veteran drivers. The committee has published a booklet of "quick tips for drivers," which includes a checklist for drivers before and after their runs (such as returning keys and checking for sleeping children), as well as brief advice on using the bus radio and handling problems such as accidents or a sick student. The booklet also includes a union membership form, which has helped bring in more members.

Besides helping their new colleagues learn the job, veteran drivers benefit directly from a lower turnover. As USEP president Lynne Webb points out, someone still has to pick up students even if there aren't enough drivers, thus forcing double runs, no breaks, crowded buses and overall low morale. "They don't get to enjoy many of the contractual benefits that others do because of such a desperate shortage," Webb adds.

"If you're sick, you still come in because you know they need you," Bolda comments. In addition, most of the supervisors are also filling in, so their jobs aren't getting done.

One other project the committee is working on this year is to take the thick notebook that all new drivers receive--and almost never open after they finish their initial training--and put the most essential material in a more user-friendly format.

Right now, the district is graduating people from its driver training classes as quickly as it can. The union and its bus drivers are hoping some of their efforts will help slow down the revolving door of people in the driver's seat.