BENTONVILLE — A school bus parked on the grass off East Centerton Boulevard in Centerton displays a large banner reading, “Now hiring bus drivers,” along with a phone number.
The Bentonville School District, while not exactly hurting for bus drivers, uses the bus and sign to help maintain a steady supply.
“It attracts quite a bit of attention,” said Galen Havner, district director of human resources.
It's hard to keep bus driver numbers up for several reasons, Havner said.
“Mainly it is a part-time job, and if they are looking for a full-time driving job, we are often the waiting room,” he said.
Some potential drivers also are deterred because of the training required. They must get a commercial driver’s license and go through training the district offers.
Bentonville bus drivers begin at $14 per hour. They receive a 3 percent pay increase after every five years of service.
“As the economy gets better it gets a little harder to find drivers,” Havner said. “There was a time when things were really slow that there were a lot more drivers seeking jobs.”
The district has 66 applications from people seeking bus driving jobs, he said, though some of those applications are old.
Ron Young, transportation director for the Rogers School District, said Rogers is in good shape as far as bus drivers.
“We’ve struggled in the past,” Young said. “We hired two or three this summer, and I’ve got a couple finishing the licensing. It’s kind of a process when someone says they want to do this.”
All applicants are fingerprinted and their backgrounds are checked.
Rogers employs about 100 bus drivers. Starting pay there is $13 per hour. The district recently has tried to consolidate stops to make routes more efficient, Young said.
“We’re in the best shape we’ve been in years,” Young said.
Marie Cowgur has driven buses for the Bentonville School District for 19 years, making her one of the district’s top five drivers in seniority.
“I love my job. I love my kids,” Cowgur said. “I just love getting up early in the morning and getting out there on my route. It gives me the opportunity to be home during the day to take care of everything I need to take care of.”
Cowgur, the mother of School Board member Willie Cowgur, said being a bus driver requires patience.
“You have to be very aware of who’s getting on your bus,” she said. “Most of it is rewarding. I get to know these kids. I hope they have learned something from me being their bus driver. You have to be in control, and you have to treat them a certain way to get their respect.”
She frequently has interesting experiences on the job, she said. Some are scary.
In October, Cowgur was waiting to turn left near Washington Junior High School when a 12-year-old boy crossing the street between her and a car was struck by another car. The impact threw the boy against Cowgur’s bus, she said.
Cowgur immediately got on her bus radio and notified dispatch to call 911. The boy was taken to a hospital and later airlifted to a trauma center in Springfield, Mo. He survived.
The boy’s mother credited Cowgur’s quick response as what saved his life, Cowgur said.
“I thought he wouldn’t make it,” Cowgur said. “You see a lot when you’re a bus driver.”