Ashwaubenon Principal and School Board Member Fill In Amid Bus Driver Shortage

ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Ashwaubenon High School Principal Dirk Ribbens and school board member Brian Van De Kreeke can now add bus driver to their list of experiences.

“Working with kids is some of the most important work we can do in our community,” Ribbens said. “And one of the important things in education is getting kids where they need to be.”

The pair recently earned their Commercial Driver’s License to help drive students to events. On Friday, they drove the basketball teams to their away games against DC Everest. They hope it addresses a long-term challenge Lamers Bus Lines has faced.

“The pandemic — it just decimated our fleet of drivers that are devoted to charter driving because there was absolutely nothing for them to do,” Lamers School Bus Operations Manager Cindi Lawler said. “So many of them just simply retired.”

Lawler said having Ribbens and Van De Kreeke available as drivers has been a big help, especially for longer trips.

“My intention is let’s not have any events or field trips cancelled in our districts at any of our schools because there’s not a bus driver around,” Van De Kreeke said.

Van De Kreeke said knowing students aren’t losing out on any experiences is an essential part of the job.

“I honestly didn’t know what the pay rate was until two weeks into it because that wasn’t my motivation,” Van De Kreeke said. “I was motivated to get kids where they need to be.”

Ribbens started looking at contributing after events were cancelled last spring due to the shortage. He started his training in June, and Van De Kreeke followed shortly after.

Lawler hopes others consider following in their footsteps.

“We really appreciate the cooperation with the school districts,” Lawler said. “We’ve got a few that have been doing it. We absolutely are interested in collaborating with them.”

Ribbens says it’s worth giving up a Friday night if it benefits the students in the district.

“These students are kind of like our kids,” Ribbens said, “and we love them like our own children. We’re happy to be with them. For the most part, they’re happy to be with us. But, really, the important thing is they’re getting to the events they need to get to.”

The process for getting a permit and training to become a bus driver is about three to four weeks.

Ashwaubenon Principal and School Board Member Fill In Amid Bus Driver Shortage

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