BY MATT LINDSEY
North Country This Week

CANTON — Canton Central School got some good news last week, as many of their transportation employees may no longer need to quarantine if exposed to COVID-19.

CCS Superintendent Ron Burke updated the Board Thursday about district transportation.

“I think we have some good news in the very near future,” he said at the March 4 meeting. Burke said that if the district's most recent COVID exposure had taken place a few days later, school would not have had to shift to remote learning.

This is because people who receive the COVID vaccine have a window where they do not need to quarantine if exposed to COVID. For now, that window is two weeks after their second shot, and up until 3 months.

Burke noted that many of the transportation employees were three days short of required time.

“We’re in much better shape moving forward,” Burke said.

The superintendent said he did reach out to local schools to see if they could loan any drivers to CCS short-term, but every school is facing the same shortage issues of drivers.

Burke said several schools could offer a mechanic or even a bus, but not a driver. He said many schools were already short drivers and were combining school runs.

This opened the door to a broader conversation about a regional, and state-wide issue of bus driver shortages.

Burke, as he has in the past, pointed out that the bus driver test was overhauled in recent years and is not more difficult to pass.

“It’s not an easy exam,” he said. He said the driving test is no longer just a driving test and it now involves knowing many mechanical components of a vehicle.

“It’s tough. The pass rate isn’t great,” he said.

A second issue is a changing job market in which people would work part-time for the school while holding a second job. Burke said many of those jobs have disappeared and people are not applying for bus driving positions as much as they used to.

One idea Burke suggested was making bus drivers full-time employees. To do this, drivers would assume other duties such as custodial or monitor work.

Board member Robert Devins suggested SUNY Canton or BOCES offer a bus driver course to address the issue.

Burke said he would discuss a bus driver training program with local superintendents again soon.

SUNY Canton spokesman Greg Kie said the college is open to the idea of a bus driver training program, and encouraged schools to reach out to officials there. However, there are no plans in place as of now to create such a program.