Northern Cass Superintendent: bus driver shortage "most difficult" in ten years

(Fargo, ND) -- The superintendent for Northern Cass School District is now asking the public for ideas for responding to the shortage of school bus drivers.  

"This is my tenth year here at Northern Cass and this is easily the most difficult it's been to try to get drivers. You try to avoid having your certified staff do it because they have a job to teach and they need time to prep before and after and they're losing out. We have a lot of our administrators that are driving," said Cory Steiner.   

Cory Steiner says federal training requirement are among the hurdles for prospective drivers. 

The superintendent says they recently increased pay for bus drivers to 27 dollars an hour, and guarantee at least two hours of work in the morning and at least two hours in the afternoon. 

Steiner says some parents are stepping up and offering to drive short buses to help with the crunch.