STN Salary Survey TIPPING the Pay Scale
School Districts Seek Creative Salary Solutions for Low Driver Pay
WRITTEN BY DAVID GEORGE |
DAVID@STNONLINE.COM I
f you ask the average person their attitudes towards pay, a certain dollar amount is likely going to be one of, if not the, most important factors in where they work. But according to student transportation leaders, it’s not the only factor.
Still, it remains true that a significant reason for the chronic school
bus driver shortage affecting the industry nationwide, is the low average rate of pay. Tat’s especially the case when compared to other commer- cial driver jobs, according to STN’s research. Additional challenges tied to pay are the rising local costs of living and housing, as well as each state’s minimum wage. To help understand these and other related issues, School
Transportation News conducted an emailed national survey of its readers in August. Te lowest reported school bus driver pay rate was $8.26 per hour to start and a maximum of $8.50 per hour for experienced drivers. In contrast, the highest reported maximum pay rate was $35 an hour at Fairfield Community Schools in Goshen, Indiana; Howard-Winneshiek CSD in Cresco, Iowa; and Winston-Salem/Forsythe County Schools in North Carolina.
Other non-pay-related factors were the distance drivers lived
from the work site, and the work environment or culture. Also included were driving newer buses, and whether they are equipped with the latest high-tech devices (tablets, HD video, collision avoidance software, GPS, student tracking, etc.), as well as the number of work hours. Some more personal issues were whether their colleagues are
supportive and friendly (or not)? How effective is their supervisor? Do drivers feel their job requirements are too burdensome? Have they grown tired of conflicts with student passengers or their parents, challenging routes or continuous rain and snow? Ten there are issues such as, is the position part-time or full- time? Are benefits available, including health insurance, vacation pay and pensions? Are similar, higher paying job openings available nearby—but minus the headaches of driving a school bus? For the STN survey, 486 readers who had the job titles of transportation director, transportation supervisor, or fleet manager responded to a question that asked what the maximum pay rate for
Starting School Bus Driver Salaries (Based on 466 responses to STN readership survey.)
$ AN HOUR 16 MEDIAN WAGE Average of $ 12.62 an hour
Truck Driver Base Salary* $53,000 for a national, irregular route $86,000 for a private truck fleet driver
*American Trucking Associations Driver Compensation Survey, March 2018 32 School Transportation News • OCTOBER 2018 TATES WITH MOST RESPONSES TO STN SURVEY MOST COMMON SCHOOL BUS
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