VIERA, Fla. – Hundreds of Brevard Public Schools bus drivers will have new responsibilities under the school district’s reopening plan due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Everyone on the buses will have to use hand sanitizer and wear a mask. After each ride, the driver is responsible for wiping down the bus.
Less than two weeks before going back to school, the district posted to its social media platforms that its looking for new drivers.
News 6 asked, given the circumstances, if there are bus drivers choosing to not come back this year.
The district’s media and publications specialist said there’s always a need for bus drivers.
"We haven't experienced anything above what normal attrition would be just like in any profession, and our bus drivers are ready to see their kids," Katherine Allen said.
The district said drivers are excited after completing their training last week.
"They're ready to go with the new safety protocols," Allen said.
The district’s mandatory mask requirement for most students and staff in close spaces is for the first 90 days of the year and will be revisited at different times to see where things stand.
"As school starts, your children should stay home if you're sick," Brevard County Health Department Administrator Maria Stahl said in a meeting with county emergency leaders Thursday.
The district also asks that any student who can get their own ride to school take advantage of that.
The chair of the school board believes less students on buses can help keep positivity rates, or percentage of new cases, down.
"If our families can provide transportation for their students to school, rather than sending them on the bus, we need them to do it," chair Misty Belford said.
To become a Brevard Public Schools bus driver, applicants can call the numbers listed at this link.