New certified testing site drives recruitment forward
from Listen to the Story Hosted by Bethel School District
Getting Bethel students to school safely and on time just got a major boost. With 12,800 students taking the bus to school each day, getting our kids to campus requires an equally massive logistical push. To keep those routes running smoothly, driver recruitment remains a top priority for our transportation team. “What's exciting about that, is that number is going back up,” said Paul Marquardt, Executive Director of Operations. “Last year we had 134 route packages. This year we have 144.” To maintain that momentum, the Bethel School District is now an officially certified driver testing site equipped with its own basic skills course. The new setup creates a faster, more sustainable system for recruiting, training, qualifying, and retaining drivers right here in our district. In the past, aspiring drivers often faced delays caused by limited outside testing appointments, travel, and scheduling conflicts. By keeping training and testing closer to home, qualified trainees move through the onboarding process much faster. Having an established testing route within our own boundaries gives candidates a known location for skills examinations while giving our transportation team higher control over scheduling and route availability. This streamlined approach ensures more consistent training and evaluation, improved operational continuity, and better readiness for substitute drivers. “We have 17 subs right now. But we're still stretched thin, so we're working on that,” Marquardt said.
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