THONOTOSASSA, Fla. — Hillsborough County Public Schools is hosting a job fair Saturday morning to try and hire more bus drivers.
It runs from 8 a.m. to noon at 9455 Harney Road in Thonotosassa.
The district is looking to hire more than 100 drivers. Jim Beekman, the general manager of transportation for the school district, said the event is necessary because officials are still trying to find ways to deal with the ongoing shortage issue.
“We have drivers making multiple runs on buses in order to try and compensate,” he said.
Neighboring school districts, such as Pinellas County, recently approved new bell times for the 2023-24 school year to try and tackle their driver shortages. In Hillsborough County, Beekman said there are currently 75,000 students relying on bus transportation.
“We don’t want the kids being late to school they have to be there for those hours,” he said.
The bus driver positions have a starting pay of $16.04 an hour. Drivers are also able to earn their commercial driver’s license, or CDL, for free.
“We are looking for people who will step up and say, 'Hey I want to make a difference and be a part of the solution to make sure these kids are off the streets and in the classroom where they belong,'” Beekman said.