She shared that the district supplied personal protective equipment (PPE)
but it restricts movement and vision behind the wheel. Now, only monitors use PPE. She added that the district’s communication regarding the virus has also been misleading. “The screening process is not very helpful. We ask questions and take
temperatures, but scientists have stated that 80 percent of people who contract the virus don’t exhibit a fever,” the driver commented. “What is the point of taking the students temperature at all?” She added that drivers in her district are contracting COVID-19 but
officials refuse to share information, citing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or “claiming ignorance.” She explained that trans- portation should have shut down when 10 percent of the driving force contracted the virus. “Yet we didn’t get to stop working or even hear from management
about exposure. I personally had close contact with three drivers who came down with the virus. Thankfully, federal laws changed Jan. 1, and employers now have 24 hours of learning an employee has gotten COVID-19 to let others know.” She said the confusion doesn’t stop there. Her superintendent stated
that frequent disinfection, which was thought at the beginning of the pandemic to be a key safety component, could now pose a health risk to students and staff due to the chemicals used. The superintendent also claimed the additional cleaning has limited to no impact on COVID-19 transmission, she relayed. Still, staff is directed to use chemicals to disin- fect their buses and around schools. “If it is not safe for the students, why use them at all?” she questioned. Another driver, who also wished to remain anonymous, said drivers
weren’t provided with masks or properly fitted gloves last March when COVID-19 first shut down the school district, located in the southeastern U.S. But staff continued delivering meals and homework supplies to stu- dents in need. It wasn’t until August that the transportation department received information on cleaning and was provided with adequate PPE and supplies to stay safe. While the driver shared that she loves her job and transporting stu-
dents, a lack of understanding about transportation operations remains pervasive throughout the district. She added that assistant principals are in charge of transportation operations, and sometimes they have no prior knowledge of school busing. She added that the assistant principals juggles transportation with other priorities. Meanwhile, Stephanie Steen, a First Student school bus driver who
supports the Durham District School Board in Ontario, said she’s immuno- compromised. She noted her location has been very proactive in assigning her alternative duties that don’t involve interacting directly with the stu- dents. She added that the district provides two masks a day to drivers, one for the morning route and one for the afternoon. It’s a part of Steen’s job to deliver the PPE supplies.
Paying Attention However, Steen observed that school bus drivers remain underpaid
nationwide for the responsibilities they shoulder. Transportation direc- tors and supervisors cited an average hourly wage of $19 for introductory school bus drivers, an increase of $2 from the fall of 2019, and $25 as the
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