News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Students at Besser Elementary School board the bus after school on Thursday. Alpena Public Schools is dealing with a driver shortage that has caused some students and parents to fend for themselves to find transportation to school.

ALPENA — Each day school bus drivers for Alpena Public Schools drive enough miles to travel to Orlando, Florida and back.

Having so much ground to cover has proven problematic recently as the district struggles with a driver shortage. The shortage has left some students to rely on other ways to get to school because there aren’t enough drivers to cover the district’s routes, according to APS officials.

It has become common for Alpena Public Schools to send out notices to parents notifying them of buses that won’t be making their runs.

On Thursday, two buses were out of commission because there weren’t enough drivers to drive them. A bus covering a route in the Hinks Elementary School area was unavailable for the morning commute, but did transport students in the afternoon. Another bus, which services the Wilson Elementary School area, was unable to do any of its route.

There were also buses that were unavailable on Monday and Tuesday, officials said.

Lee Fitzpatrick, director of communications for APS, said the bus drivers the school has are top-notch, but the school system needs more of them to help cover the shortages. He said the employee shortage isn’t unique to Alpena and is a nationwide issue.

In Alpena, Fitzpatrick said, the school system is losing drivers for several reasons.

“Over the last couple years we have had a lot of drivers retire, like other positions in the schools, and there are many others who are reaching retirement age,” he said. “We just aren’t getting replacements to fill those positions.”

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic also hasn’t helped, Fitzpatrick said.

The school system has advertised open positions for bus drivers and other employment opportunities heavily on its social media accounts trying to fill staffing gaps.

Fitzpatrick said people who are interested should have a clean driving record, pass a background check, and most importantly, have a passion for helping kids succeed in school.

We are looking for people with big hearts, who love kids,” he said. “It is a very fulfilling job to help the kids fulfill their education.”

Over the last year, parents have sparred with the board of education over COVID-19 restrictions and concerns over issues like Critical Race Theory.

There was also an incident with a bus last week where two students were injured and some students arrived home as late as three hours after school was released. The district said last week that a new bus driver had difficulty finding drop-off locations and ultimately returned to Ella White Elementary School.

Once the bus returned, APS officials said, a parent tried to force their way on board, which heightened students’ anxiety on the bus.

Fitzpatrick said the coverage of those issues could deter someone from wanting to drive a school bus, but said there are many good things occurring daily that go unreported and the public is unaware of.

“I don’t think it is a benefit or helps us,” Fitzpatrick said. “We understand as a school people watch us, and things can get amplified when something goes wrong. What you don’t hear is what happens the other 186 days a year when things go great. Our drivers are great. They drive through poor weather to make sure the kids get home safely and overall really do a heroic job.”

People who are interested in a school bus driving position can apply online on the school’s website, or by contacting the human resources department.