A shortage of school bus drivers has schools and bus companies scrambling to fill routes in Milwaukee area and Wisconsin

Most mornings, Steve Fendt can be found at the wheel of a yellow school bus, meandering the narrow streets of Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood.

He rolls up to Gaenslen Elementary School, 1250 E. Burleigh St., about 7:30, drops off his charges, then puts in a full day as a teacher's aide before hitting the road again on two after-school routes.

Fendt's cobbled schedule is one of the creative ways school districts and bus companies in Wisconsin and across the country are dealing with a shortage of school bus drivers.

That shortage has grown particularly acute in recent years, prompting some districts to abandon their own fleets in favor of contractors, expand their walk-to-school zones and cancel or consolidate routes, according to bus company operators.

"It's a national phenomenon," said Mark Jordan, president of Waukesha-based Dairyland Bus Group, which serves school districts across the state.

"Driver shortages are nothing new. But they have become more severe and more complex. ... And this cycle seems to be sticking around longer."

The dearth of drivers is being felt across Wisconsin in districts large and small, urban, suburban and rural. This month, the Franklin School District, which contracts with First Student Inc., cited the driver shortage in a letter to parents warning them that they could see delays in service through the end of the school year.

In the rural Wisconsin Dells School District, which operates its own fleet, it's not unusual for Transportation Director Fred Steinhorst and mechanic Nick Jensen to pick up some routes when drivers are out.

Last year, the Reedsburg School District in Sauk County teamed up with online retailer Lands' End on a plan that lets part-time drivers — who might otherwise be lured away by full-time work — pick up mid-day shifts at the company's distribution and call center in town. And Milwaukee Public Schools launched a similar pilot called Pick 2 for You, which offers drivers like Fendt a second part-time post in the district.

"There are drivers who work in MPS as staff, and our idea was to try to expand that systematically by looking at the types of jobs that would make a good fit," such as a  cafeteria worker, custodial staff and teachers' aides, said David Solik-Fifarek, senior director of business and transportation services.

The shortage — part of a broader shortage of drivers in transportation industries overall — is being driven by a host of factors, including the robust economy and low unemployment rate, more rigorous standards for becoming a driver and more stringent medical screenings adopted in recent years.

In a booming economy, it can be difficult to attract and retain drivers for what is in most cases a part-time gig. Drivers must hold a commercial driver's license and pass a criminal background check. They're screened for such medical conditions as heart problems, high blood pressure and apnea that may require regular monitoring in order to drive. And some states require fingerprinting, though Wisconsin requires that only if the driver had lived out of state in the last two years.

Add to that Wisconsin winters, which exacerbate the working conditions, and behavior management issues with children and sometimes parents. Last Monday, police were called to a Lamers Bus Lines terminal to deal with an angry parent who threatened to kill their child's driver and blow up the school bus, general manager Dean Brown said.

"These are the kinds of things that make it increasingly harder to get people in," said Brown, who described the current shortage as the worst he's seen in three decades.

Bus companies are doing whatever they can to attract and retain drivers: higher wages — most said they start around $17 an hour — signing bonuses, guaranteeing a minimum number of hours, paid CDL training and partnering with districts on recruiting or pilots like Milwaukee Public Schools' Pick 2 for You.

MPS, which transports 45,000 students a day along 2,000 routes, is by far the largest school bus system in the state. The district contracts with nine bus companies, three van companies and two taxi firms, as well as the Milwaukee County Transit System to diversify its transportation options — a system that makes it easier for it to pivot when shortages pop up, according to Solik-Fifarek.

RELATED:Borsuk: Signs show progress in improving early childhood education in Milwaukee and Wisconsin

RELATED:Smaller class sizes in Wisconsin schools benefit low-income kids, students of color the most

But there are challenges, he said, and MPS hopes Pick 2 for You will help address some of those. An added bonus, he said, is that having a single person both drive the bus and work in the school helps with classroom management and minimizes behavioral problems.

"I do think being a bus driver helps me at the school," said Fendt, who felt more "disconnected" from the students in his first year driving a school bus. "Now I know some of the parents, I know their teachers. ... And they know there's one more person who cares about them, is supportive of them, and gets them to school safely."