need to be relocated to schools miles away. “We’re running short right now,” Staggs added. Similar challenges are experienced


every day and in every way across the country, and the overtaxing on transportation services does not help an already depleted pool of available bus drivers. But Tuscaloosa City is responding with an aggressive pay increase for all veterans and novices, alike.


Like at most districts, Tuscaloosa City pays for all driver licensing fees after three months of service. In addition, last school year, the school board approved a sign-on bonus of $1,000 for any new applicant who already had a CDL with the school bus certification. Tis month, that bonus is being extended for all new drivers upon hire. Over the summer, the school


board also approved an additional 1-percent, across-the-board pay hike for all school bus drivers, no matter their years of experience. When add- ed to a 4-percent increase provided by the Alabama State Department of Education for all teachers and other school district personnel who make less than $75,000 a year, Staggs said the starting school bus driver wage will exceed $19 an hour. New and veteran drivers also have the quieter ride of propane school buses to look forward to after Tusca- loosa City purchased its first order of propane school buses in May of last year, with the new IC Bus CE Series vehicles hitting the road last fall. “We’ve been using diesel buses


forever,” then-Transportation Di- rector Jimmy Boone told Tuscaloo- saNews.com at the time. “Propane is a cleaner-burning fuel than diesel. It’s considered a clean fuel because it has almost no greenhouse gas emissions. (Propane buses) are also much quieter. In fact, on average, when comparing a regular diesel school bus to a propane school bus, a propane bus is 11 sound decibels


See Us At Booth #143


March 17-22


EMBASSY SUITES Frisco, Texas (a suburb of Dallas)


2017


• Specialized Training • Networking • Compliance • Certification


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