Special Report
We offer paid time off, full benefits to all six-hour employees, and there are always routes and other items
to do to keep them at their [expected number of] hours.” — Kathy Roadlander, Sequoia Charter Schools/Edkey, Inc. in Mesa, Arizona
for charters, because it conflicts with home-to-school runs. In fact, we have many requests we cannot accommodate. Tis is not technology-related, but a result of better efficiency.” Despite Waterloo not recruiting drivers directly, Bourgault
acknowledged that the operation must keep a close eye on staffing levels. “We suffer the consequences together [with the contractor],” he said. “Te industry loses on average, 20 percent [of its] drivers every summer, [so] recruitment and training planning needs to replenish that loss.” Nancy Clavette, the dispatch/assistant to the transportation
director of Oyster River Cooperative School District in Durham, New Hampshire, explained that bus drivers are under contract for 20-, 25- or 30-hour work weeks. In addition to performing morning and afternoon routes, additional driver duties can include: Bus and office cleaning, yard work, light vehicle maintenance (i.e., changing wipers, lights and washer fluid), and snow removal. “We also offer summer work, if [it is] available,” she said. Tim Murray, transportation supervisor for Traverse City
Area Public Schools in Michigan, said his district also offers other employment opportunities to drivers, such as custodial work, deliveries and other district duties that are needed to make them full time employees. TCAPS is the largest school district in northwestern Michigan.
ATHLETIC TRIPS AND FIELD TRIPS ADD HOURS Scott Lilyquist, transportation supervisor at Belgrade School District in Montana, told STN that route bus drivers can work more total hours by driving activity and athletic trips. “If the route driver misses [his/her] scheduled route, the district pays 1.5 hours of route time and subtracts 1.5 hours from the trip hours. Tis helps get our trips covered, since the route pay is higher than trip drivers, $18.31 to $16.19,” he said. Kathy Roadlander, director of transportation for Sequoia
Charter Schools/Edkey, Inc. that serves the larger Phoenix area, said shortages are not an issue for them. “Gratefully, we have a good working team and they return year after year,” she said. “We offer paid time off, full benefits to all six-hour employees, and there are always routes and other items to do to keep them at their [expected number of] hours.”
22 School Transportation News • NOVEMBER 2018
Still, there can be issues of drivers padding the clock, such as clocking in and then visiting with co-workers, instead of immediately going to their respective buses for the pre-trip inspection. So she turned to the Synovia Solutions All-in-One Tablet with time and attendance. “When a driver clocks in on the time clock,” she said, he
or she “then needs to go to their vehicle and clock in again on the tablet. We can compare the times to ensure that they indeed went to the vehicle and began work,” she told STN. “Tis has been stopping the clock-in and sit-down procedures that were happening. I have not had any overtime for these drivers this year due to their regular duties.” When it comes to developing realistic budget numbers each
school year, Roadlander said her team compares the latest budget figure with the number of student enrollments on the last day of the previous school year. “In our areas, we see fluctuations change from area to area on a regular basis,” she said. “A couple of our campuses are capped on the number of buses that are budgeted for. Tis leaves a waiting list, and parents are advised of this as they register their students.” Roadlander stressed that resourcefulness and some open communications are vital. “We do our best to be creative on these issues,” she added. “If we have an open route, we will put out an all-call, letting families know that the bus will be late, until we can rearrange bus stops to make things work.” Adam Schwartz, director of transportation for Grandview C4 School District in Missouri, reported that his staff has “worked diligently” to consolidate routes and identify internal efficiencies, to provide more hours to their current drivers and new applicants. “In doing so, we are running a smaller fleet of buses, but giving drivers between 30 and 40 hours per week,” he said. “As we have consolidated routes, our buses have more students on them.” Schwartz explained that initial concerns about resulting student management were addressed this year with a simple solution. “We added bus monitors to routes that required more adult supervision,” he added. “It is more cost effective to add a bus monitor, rather than put another bus on route. Tis also reduced fuel and maintenance costs. It’s a win-win for our district.” ●
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