EAST HELENA — Bus driver shortages are nothing new in Helena and East Helena, both during and after the pandemic, but in lieu of enough drivers East Helena Activities, Maintenance, and Facilities Director Shaun Murgel and Superintendent Dan Rispens have stepped up to fill the void.
“Finally got my license in February and the next day I started driving bus,” said Murgel.
While Murgel will pick up students from all five East Helena Public Schools after class lets out nearly every day, Rispens works on a substitute basis to help fill in the gaps as needed. Though this most certainly isn’t Rispens' first time making the wheels on the bus go round and round.
“I was trying to do anything I could get my foot in the door and met the guy who was the transportation supervisor for Helena, and got involved driving buses for them," said Rispens. "I was a substitute bus driver and substitute teacher. and that one thing led to another. Eventually got a teaching job, but I always kept my license.”
For the time being, both are filling the role of getting kids home from school safely but they hope to have new full time, part-time and substitute drivers available in the near future.
“We have nine bus routes, so we need nine bus drivers regularly and we have a couple of [substitute] drivers. Currently, we're training a couple new guys," said Murgel.
Despite it not officially being in their job descriptions, both Murgel and Rispens agree that doing a job like driving a school bus allows people a different insight into students in their community.
“You see a lot of good kids coming up in East Helena. Those little kids see the bigger kids mentoring them and as they get older, they'll start doing the same thing for the younger kids,” said Murgel.
If you're interested in learning about becoming a bus driver in East Helena, you can find that information on the East Helena Public Schools website.
