HAWLEY, Pa. — Every day, Superintendent Keith Gunuskey has to make decisions that best serve students at Wallenpaupack Area School District near Hawley.
But when he's not in his office, he can be found behind the wheel of a school bus.
"Our bus contractors had alluded to the fact that they just didn't have a lot of substitute bus drivers, and so we were trying to figure out what we could do as district administrators to help them and support them," said Keith Gunuskey, Wallenpaupack Area School District Superintendent.
As a volunteer firefighter, Gunuskey is used to driving large vehicles.
He is one of four staff members in the district to get his commercial driver's license to help with the ongoing shortage.
"The comparison that I was thinking of with a school bus, which is 40 feet long and roughly fifteen thousand pounds. I drive a 47-and-a-half-foot Ariel ladder that's 90 thousand pounds. so going into this, I certainly had a little bit more of an understanding as to the driving dynamics that go into driving a school bus," said Superintendent Gunuskey.
The district covers 325 square miles, and every day, 45 buses and 40 vans are on those roads with roughly 85 drivers behind the wheel.
Wallenpaupack North Primary Principal Kevin Kromko is also helping out.
"We're fortunate in this community, in this area, to give our kids a lot of opportunities to go different places and leave the campus and experience a lot of different things. You know, frankly, we just don't want those kids to miss an opportunity because there is no one to drive the bus, so, you know, in my making my decision to drive the school bus, that's what it was all about," said Kevin Kromko, Wallenpaupack North Primary School Principal.
Administrators say by getting behind the wheel, they're not taking jobs away from bus drivers. Instead, they're looking to hire even more to fill the need.
"It's important to recognize that not every driver needs to have a CDL. If you're driving a school van, you don't need that CDL, but they're just as important and just as needed across the board, so you know certainly there is that flexible schedule. It's not an 8-5 job. There's the morning time, there's the afternoon time, and you just provide an invaluable service," said Superintendent Gunuskey.
Several other school administrators are going through CDL training to help out.
If you're interested in becoming a bus driver within the Wallenpaupack Area School District, click here for more information.