(The Center Square) — A recent job fair held in Caddo Parish to recruit transportation employees received over 100 applicants for open positions.
The Caddo Parish School Board Transportation Committee discussed areas of focus for the next school year while also addressing specific challenges faced during 2024-2025, including transportation for students.
Areas of focus for the department included three major items — recruitment and staffing, reinforcing a positive culture and new resources.
Personnel recruitment and staffing continue to be a challenge for Caddo Parish. Recently, the board approved additional bus driver positions in the budget, which allowed the transportation department to host a job fair in the community. The job fair brought in over 100 applicants, and 28 were selected to participate in the June training classes. Of the 28 selected, 12 have their permits and two have their commercial driver licenses.
Caddo Parish Public Schools Director of Transportation Jeff Roberts said there are currently 250 routes for the beginning of the next school year, with 233 full-time drivers last year. After the training of new applicants, the department will have almost 250 they need.
When it comes to recruitment and staffing, the budget allots for 10 additional drivers, allowing for a full staff with extra coverage for employees who are absent and need coverage.
With the current budget, each driver can receive up to an additional $1,000 next school year based on attendance. Those employees can receive up to $250 every nine weeks for coming to work daily.
“I do see this as being something that is definitely going to decrease the number of absentees that we have, along with the increased number of full-time positions, which obviously is going to drastically improve our efficiency,” said Roberts.
Employee attendance has been heavily discussed by the school board as they look to implement new policies surrounding employee attendance. The Center Square previously reported on new policy revisions presented by Caddo Parish Public Schools Superintendent Keith Burton. These policy revisions addressed employee attendance in order to improve student success.
