Become A Fairfax County School Bus Driver

Effective July, 2007: $16.57/hour + great benefits
$100 bonus after 90 days of driving (see details below)

Fairfax County, Virginia has an immediate need for more school bus drivers and they are willing to pay well for you to take this position.

This web page is NOT written or endorsed by Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). It is written by a current Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) school bus driver supervisor who can talk to you on a one-on-one basis to help answer your questions about this position.

Benefits of becoming a Fairfax County school bus driver:

• Starting pay of $16.57 per hour. Top of scale is currently over $25 an hour, plus benefits
• Can be guaranteed up to 35 hours/week if you wish, but you can work as few as 20 hours to get all the "full time" benefits for part time work; 40+ possible if willing to work
• A 20 hour week would be about 4 hours/day, 5 days a week, with the time (usually) 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon
• You have the mid-day hours (4-1/2 hours) off if you want, so you can do whatever you want to do in the mid-morning "off" time
• You can bring your pre-school aged children (0-5 years old) on the bus with you (children or grand-children) during your runs
  • no paying for babysitting
  • save on child-care fees
  • off work when your children are out of school
• You can have your summers off of work although some summer work is available on a selective basis
• 6 paid non-work days
• Typical working hours are 6am-9am and 1:30pm-4:30pm. Other hours when assigned.
• You can choose the part of the (Fairfax) county in which you would like to work.
• Substitute bus drivers are also needed and are paid the same starting pay but they do not receive benefits. After completing the paid training program, as a substitute driver, you can pick and choose when you want to work.
• Friendly fellow bus drivers and great supervisors (opinion of a school bus driver -- not an official statement)
• Paid CDL training & CDL license fee (Commercial Driver's License - School Bus) if you are a Virginia resident; if you are not a Virginia resident, you must possess a valid CDL prior to applying
• Paid school bus driving training for all persons (VA, MD, PA, WV, DC residents) -- you get your salary while you are being trained (approximately 4 weeks of training)
• $100 bonus paid by Sally Storr after you have driven for 90 days. Note: this bonus is after 90 days of driving, not 90 calendar days, so in 1 week of driving (Mon-Fri), you would have driven 5 days. Weekends, holidays, and other non-driving days do not count in the 90-day calculation.
• Drivers are eligible for annual step increases plus cost-of-living increases.
• Great retirement benefits
• Life insurance
• Health insurance: Multiple plans available at reasonable cost
• Disability insurance
• Paid sick and personal leave
• Consideration can be given for previous school bus driving experience!

Summary of requirements needed for this position:

• 3 years (car) driving experience
• Attend a 90 minute job information session sponsored by FCPS in Falls Church, VA. Session is held several times a week (free). At the session, you will receive a presentation describing details of all the benefits. The application for the school bus driver position is obtained at this session -- it is not available for download on the internet. You can call 571-423-3000 to schedule your information (orientation) session.
• Before you attend the information session, obtain a copy of your driving record from the past 5 years from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) -- cost in Virginia is about $10 for you to get this record from the DMV. If you live in Virginia, FCPS will be able to obtain your driving record for you.  You should be able to obtain this copy of your driving record at any branch office of your state's DMV. Your driving record is required in order to attend the 90 minute job information session sponsored by FCPS. If you are from another state, call 571-423-3000 or 1-800-831-4331 for information on how to get your driving record.
• Prepare a resume or work history.  You may submit your resume online at www.fcps.edu/DHR/careerquest, or you may bring it with you to your information session
• Obtain a copy of the Virginia CDL handbook at any Virginia DMV branch. Chapters 1,2,5,6, and 8 are the chapters in the CDL handbook you will need to study for your written test.
• Like children (not required, but helpful; opinion of a school bus driver -- not an official statement)
• Have a clean driving record and a motor vehicle license (a car driver's license). You must pay for the learner's permit for the commercial license, but the county will pay for your actual Commercial Drivers License (if you are a resident of Virginia) and the training time (for everyone (Virginia and non-Virginia residents) -- no cost) for you to get the "CDL-School Bus" license.
• After you have been accepted into the training class, you are required to pass:
  • an employment physical
  • drug/alcohol screen test
  • driving record standards
  • criminal background investigation
  • pass CDL permit test by the third day of training class
• FCPS pays for the required employment physical and drug test. The sites to get your physical and drug tests are located across various parts of Fairfax county.
• Successfully complete FCPS school bus driver certification training program . This training program involves more than 140 hours of classroom, behind-the-wheel, and on-the-job training under the close supervision of certified driver trainers, AND you are PAID your hourly rate while you are being trained. Training classes start every 2 weeks and normally run from 6am-2:30pm each day. The hours of your 4th week of training will be the hours that will match the assigned bus run that you will drive after your training session is complete. Training is conducted at the School Bus Driver Training Center located behind Marshall High School (7731 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church).
• Obtain a Commercial Driver License. The written portion of the CDL test can be taken at any branch office of the Virginia DMV. The on-road portion is administred by the School Bus Driver Training Center on behalf of the DMV. Non-residents must possess the Virginia CDL prior to start of training class.
• Participate in regular in-service training programs to maintain a high level of both skill and knowledge.

To talk to a current school bus driver (10 years school bus driver for FCPS):

Call Sally Storr: 703-354-1745 7pm-9pm M-F; on weekends call Sally's cell phone 703-371-1830 9am-9pm Sat, or 1pm-9pm Sun

How to receive the $100 bonus:

To obtain the $100 bonus, you will need to fill in the below form and submit it BEFORE you apply for the FCPS school driver position so that Sally knows that you are going to apply for this position. In addition, there is a place on your job application to indicate that Sally Storr is the person responsible for recruiting you. Your $100 bonus will be given to you directly by Sally Storr after the following five items are satisfied:

1. You have indicated to FCPS on your initial school bus driver application that Sally Storr was the person responsible for recruiting you for this position.
2. Notify Sally when you have completed training and officially start driving a FCPS school bus.
3. You must notify Sally when you have completed your 90 days of driving
4. You will need to supply Sally with your name and full address so she will know to whom and where she is to send the bonus.
5. Fairfax County sends Sally a recruiting bonus for recruiting you  -- FCPS provides this bonus to Sally

This offer is contingent upon Fairfax County offering the currently described bonus for school bus driver recruitment -- Fairfax County may alter or discontinue a bonus for school bus driver recruitment at any time without notice.  If, for any reason, Sally does not receive the described recruitment bonus, the $100 bonus is not payable .

To receive additional information:  (includes more detailed procedures to get started with your school bus job application)

(updated Dec. 23, 2007)

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