The Pinellas County Schools district is looking to hire 45 school bus drivers for the upcoming school year.

Tony Freeman-Cosh was recently hired to work for the school system.

He has been driving buses on and off for years.

Freeman-Cosh said he's worked as a school bus driver and he's also driven tour buses.

After finding himself out of work during the pandemic, he said he's excited to be back behind the wheel.

"I've worked my whole life and the last 15 months I haven't worked, and I miss the schedule of having something to do," he said.

Freeman-Cosh is going through the district's 3 week driver training course.

He's learning to maneuver through cones and practicing safety measures.

"I feel very comfortable," he said. "The training here is very good."

Many school districts locally and around the state are in need of school bus drivers, especially since more students are expected to return to in-person learning this year.

Pinellas County Schools expects to bus about 30,000 students.

Tracy Bodenbender, a field operations supervisor with Pinellas Schools transportation division, said the number of bus driver vacancies locally is typical before the start of school and shouldn't affect any routes.

"We have an amazing dispatch department. They know how to break up routes," said Bodenbender. "We also have substitute drivers, some of our mechanics drive on a part-time basis so we're good."

As Freeman-Cosh navigated through the obstacle course, he said since he'll be transporting children, he wants to get everything just right.

"I honestly don't find it that difficult. You do have to remember a lot of things but I think if you treat the children properly and they respect you and you respect them, it's rewarding," he said.

His on-board instructor is giving him high marks.

"He's doing great," she said as she marked items off her checklist.

Freeman-Cosh is hopeful he'll be ready to roll and ready to start picking up students on the first day of school in August.

"I can't wait," he said as he drove away.

If you're interested in becoming a bus driver for Pinellas County Schools, you can find the requirements and application information here.