Wareham schools need bus drivers — and the district is rolling out some incentives.

“We’re suffering — as many other districts are in the state — about finding bus drivers,” Superintendent Dr. Kimberly Shaver-Hood said during the Aug. 5 School Committee meeting. 

In an effort to recruit and retain the drivers on staff, Shaver-Hood asked the committee to approve a 2.5 percent pay increase and other incentives, including a signing bonus for drivers. 

New drivers will start at a rate of $28 per hour and fully-licensed drivers can receive a $3,500 signing bonus, paid quarterly. 

The district will also pay drivers who aren’t yet licensed to be trained at a rate of $25 per hour. 

“The bottom line is we have a group of bus drivers that do an outstanding job,” she said. “We appreciate the work that they do. We want to support them, we want to keep them. But we also want to be able to attract additional drivers.”

One of the district’s main goals is to hire enough drivers to begin doing out-of-district runs once again rather than outsourcing them, which is expensive, Shaver-Hood said.

The School Committee unanimously voted to approve the pay increase and signing bonus incentives. 

“We’re desperately looking for bus drivers,” Shaver-Hood said. “We’ll hire as many as we possibly can.” 

To view the job posting or to apply, visit https://www.warehamps.org/Page/47.