The first week of school is in the books for most Central Florida school districts, and aside from a statewide teacher shortage, nearly all of them are still in need of bus drivers.

About a month before the school year, Seminole County Public Schools was about 80 drivers short of what they needed. They tried job fairs, job postings, referrals, but Stan McKenzie, who heads the transportation department for the district, had an idea. Why not try to bring back familiar faces?

On Friday morning, recently unretired driver Nikosha Copper hopped in to a familiar seat to start her day. She buckled her seatbelt and checked the mirror before heading out.

“I enjoy children,” Copper said from behind the wheel. “My whole life I have been working with kids.”

Despite her recent retirement, the bus driver of 16 years was back driving the roads of Seminole County this week. Her riders were some of the same faces but older, and others, of course, were new.

“My thoughts were, 'Oh my gosh, they have a shortage,' but I don’t really think too much of it,” she said.

Her retirement was short-lived — Seminole County Public Schools Transportation Director Stan McKinzie needed drivers and had an innovative idea.

 “Started looking from 2013 to the present year to see how many of my employees that were retired were also in good standing, “he said, looking at a roster on his computer. “I called all of them back.” 

Copper was one of those retired former drivers that McKinzie contacted.

She said a bus driver’s schedule allows for some of that retirement lifestyle between the first school bell ringing and the last. Copper, after her morning routes, gets a 3-hour break to go home and relax before it’s time for afternoon drop offs.

Thirteen of the district’s 20 other new hires are just like Copper — coming out of retirement to come back and help make sure children can get to school.

Cooper said retirement sounds fun, but having some extra cash while serving the community didn’t sound like a bad idea, either.

“I really need some having-fun money," she said. "But most of all, I just really enjoy coming to work for Seminole County."

For now, retirement can wait for about a dozen in Seminole County drivers, because once again they are on the go. 

McKinzie said the district is still about 60 drivers short of what they need, but all routes are covered with a few standby drivers.