Many school districts have carefully organized bus schedules to get kids of all ages to their elementary, middle and high schools on time.Photo: (Photo: Stuart Monk/Shutterstock)
Moms in Wisconsin are stepping into the driver’s seat — literally — to combat the shortage of school bus drivers.
One such mom is Sydney Reichert, who began driving a bus when she realized she wanted to earn a paycheck but wasn’t sure about being separated from her then-7-week-old daughter, Nova.
“So she sits in her car seat just like she would in my car, and she usually falls asleep so it’s a nap,” Reichert told the outlet.
The mom added, “[Nova] gets excited when we show up and grab the keys and she likes to say hi to everybody. Some of the kids say hi to her, some of the kids don’t even know she’s on the bus.”
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And Reichert is just one of several local moms — affectionately known around Kobussen as the “mom army” — who are becoming bus drivers.
“This job gives me the opportunity to stay home with my 2-year-old, bring him to work with me, and he gets to have that social environment with all the other kiddos on the bus,” fellow driver and “mom army” member Carleigh Trudeau told WGBA.
And the moms taking the keys aren’t limited to Kobussen, with safety manager Henrique Hilgenberg telling the outlet that it’s been “happening throughout the state.”
And for some districts, such as one in New Berlin, Wisconsin, that means offering incentives to climb aboard. New drivers there can earn as much as $23 an hour and some may be eligible for bonuses, WTMJ reported.
source: people.com
