Guymon Schools schedule bus driver training amid transportation staffing needs

Guymon Public Schools is trying to shore up one of the most fragile parts of the school day before next fall starts: the bus ride. The district has set Tri-County Bus Driver School for June 15 through June 17, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Guymon Public Schools, with a $350 fee and a May 4 enrollment deadline.

The class is designed to help participants earn a CDL with school bus endorsements, a credential that matters in Oklahoma because drivers transporting students in a school bus must have both the “P” and “S” endorsements. Applicants are being asked to send Julie Edenborough their Oklahoma DL number, date of birth, email address, current CDL if they have one, and phone number. The district said the course must have at least 16 participants to run.

That recruitment push lands in the middle of a broader transportation crunch that can spill directly into family schedules. In May 2024, StateImpact Oklahoma reported that more than 40% of the 400-plus districts it reviewed had open driver positions. About one quarter of 80 superintendents surveyed said they or other administrators were driving buses themselves, while other districts were combining routes, paying overtime for after-school events, and canceling some field trips because they lacked enough drivers.

For parents in Guymon, the stakes are practical and immediate. A shortage of trained drivers can mean later pickup times, route changes, and more uncertainty for working families trying to line up child care, shift work, and school start times. By advertising the class in late April, the district signaled that it is already thinking about transportation capacity for the 2026-27 school year, not waiting until August to deal with gaps.

The transportation message came alongside another key planning update: Guymon Public Schools also announced its official 2026-27 school calendar. That gives families a longer runway to plan vacations, work schedules, appointments, and activities around the school year instead of reacting after the first bell.

The district’s live feed also highlighted staff recognition, including 2026 District Teacher of the Year Deandra Fankhouser, a Guymon High School teacher of Algebra II, Math Analysis and Physics with 39 years of experience in education. The district also honored other Teacher of the Year nominees, underscoring that the same staffing concerns that affect buses also shape classroom life.

Guymon Public Schools is based at 111 NW 11th Street in Guymon, the county seat of Texas County, which had a population of 21,384 in the 2020 census. In a small county where one district touches nearly every household, transportation staffing is not a back-office issue. It is part of whether children get to school on time and working parents can keep their day moving.