Paula Merritt / The Meridian StarMike Rice, a bus driver for Southeast Lauderdale Schools, inspects a bus before boarding to take students home from school.

For the last 30 years, Kim Carmichael has been waking up at 5 a.m., brewing a cup of coffee and stepping out to begin her day as a school bus driver.

When she completes her route, she heads to the Southeast Middle School office where she assumes her other Lauderdale County School District duty – school secretary.

Carmichael is one of 130 bus drivers in the school district who deliver students to school each day on the district’s 97 bus routes. Despite their numbers, there is a shortage of drivers in the district. 

Larry Vick, the district’s transportation director, said the bus driver shortage is a statewide problem and not unique to Lauderdale County. He cites the hours and certification requirements as obstacles that might discourage prospective drivers. They must have specific endorsements, such as qualifying to use air brakes, on a commercial license and pass written and driving tests before they can drive a school bus.

There is more to the job, though. A bus driver is more than just a driver, Vick said.

“Bus drivers are the first people in the school that a student sees every morning and the last person or representative from the school system that they see in the afternoon,” Vick said.

Both the Lauderdale and Meridian Public School District recruit drivers from many walks of life – from teachers to coaches to lawyers to retirees.

Carmichael is a good example of someone making a dual role work while supplementing her income. 

She started as a substitute driver and, after time, she answered the call when the need arose for a full-time driver. She also, began working as a facilitator at the school and eventually a secretary. Her two current jobs amount to a nine-hour day for her.

She’s comfortable with a bus full of children.

“I always tell them good morning or I call them by name,” Carmichael said.

The one thing she likes most about driving the bus are the children in her care. She said she enjoys watching them grow up and now even drives for the children of her former students.

Carmichael said she feels a greater responsibility in her role as a bus driver. Instead of worrying about two or three students in the office, she has to worry about the safety of 30 to 40 students on the bus.

“You are responsible for these kids and their lives,” Carmichael said.

Keeping the students under control may be a problem for some drivers, she said, if they don’t have their heart in being around children.

No shortage at Meridian

Meridian Public School District Director of Transportation Jayson Chisolm acknowledges the statewide shortage, but said the district currently has enough drivers and substitutes to fill its 41 regular routes. He welcomes applications, however, for people interested in driving. District buses carry around 4,500 students to campus each day. 

Interested in driving?

People interested in driving a school bus must first obtain a CDL license from the Mississippi Highway Patrol.

• Lauderdale County School District applications may be found online at www.lauderdale.k12.ms.us, the district office at 301 46th Ct., Meridian, or call for infomation at  601-693-1683.

• Meridian Public School District applications may be found online at www.mpsdk12.net, the district office at 1019 25th Ave., Meridian or call Jayson Chisolm for information at 601-484-4951. 

• Drivers for Meridian are paid $10-$16 per hour, based on commercial driver experience. Full-time employees receive full benefits, such as health  insurance. Lauderdale County drivers are typically paid $7,778 to $9,681 per year, and full-time drivers receive benefits, such as health insurance.

Chisholm credits Superintendent Amy Carter for asking principals at the city schools to encourage their staff, which includes teachers and coaches, to obtain a commercial driver’s license so they can drive a bus when needed. The district also provides training onsite to keep a pool of drivers available for when a job opens.

Dustin Markham, an attorney and former city councilman, has been waking up early since 2012 to drive Meridian students to school; at first to supplement his income.

With no children of his own, he said had to learn how to work with children.

“Interacting with the kids makes me humble,” Markham said.

Driving a big vehicle was also new to him.

“Having to move the bus and dealing with kids, takes some skills,” Markham said.

Interacting with those children, however, is the thing he said he likes most about the job.

Matching schedules

School bus driving is also appealing to someone who wants a schedule that matches their children’s.

Annie McCalebb, a foster mom, began driving a Meridian school bus after working in an insurance office for a couple of years. She said the schedule works for her.

“It is the perfect job for me being in the current situation that I am in, being a single parent,” McCalebb said.

She calls the children on her bus her kids and watches out for them. For example, she may make sure they’re wearing a coat before they get on the bus. She treats them as her own.

“All the kids that ride my bus are my kids. I take responsibility for them,” McCalebb said.

The schedule, also, fits well for retirees.

“A lot retires will drive just to keep their (health) insurance,” Chisholm said.

Besides the driving skills, Chisholm looks for candidates who have a desire to be a bus driver and can hopefully make a change in a child’s life.

The desire to drive a school bus has stuck with Carmichael, the Southeast Middle School driver/secretary. She thinks she’ll continue to drive a bus when she retires, at least for a while.

“I just don’t think that I would be driving the bus 30 years from now,” Carmichael said.