Schools Bus Drivers, Cafeteria Staff and


“School districts are able to underpay long-time workers and are now discovering that they can no longer do so as there is a drastic drop in workforce participation,” he said.

According to Ms. Groshen, increased unemployment benefits during the pandemic have given workers the opportunity to quit jobs with dire working conditions while seeking better employment opportunities.

“Because people get benefits payouts, they don’t have to take first-come business,” he said. “They’re being picky and hoping something better is coming.”

Randy Mondragon has been a bus driver in Santa Fe, NM for 20 years, and his salary for the region is slightly above average, about $16.40 an hour.

He works six days a week, usually working 70 hours.

“Only one day in the 22 years I’ve worked they didn’t need me to drive a route,” Mr. Mondragon said. “We’re the first and last people students see in the morning, so our work is very important and sometimes we don’t get that approval.”

Many of these workers are older; they usually undertake these jobs to complete Social Security checks. But with the rise of the Covid-19 pandemic, many are choosing to retire early to reduce their risk of exposure.

Due to a shortage of substitute teachers, Angie Graham, a 51-year-old high school teacher in Fleming County, Ky., takes over the shifts of her other colleagues. She worries that if she gets sick, no one will be able to protect her.



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