Rockbridge County Public Schools in Virginia provided its employees with a $1,000 bonus.
Ryan explained. “I actually had more than one employee tell me it saved their Christmas.” In addition to staff bonuses for all full-time employees,
which was an administrative decision, Mustang Public Schools was also able to purchase two Chevy Suburbans and four, 14-passenger multifunction school activity buses with the ESSER funds. Ryan said that federal dollars were distributed accord- ing to department needs and funds available. He noted that projects that had the greatest impact on student success were given the highest priority in terms of ESS- ER fund distribution. In addition to offering a starting salary of $15.67 an
hour for school bus drivers, the district offers other ben- efits such as medical and life insurance, paid sick leave, a retirement pension, overtime pay, additional driving hours, flexible schedules, a positive workplace environ- ment, and professional development training. Ryan noted that when compared to the Oklahoma
City metro area, his district is close to the top in terms of salary offered though not the highest.
Glassdoor.com, he
54 School Transportation News • MARCH 2022
said, states that the average salary for a school bus driver in Oklahoma ranges from $12 to $17 an hour, while the state’s minium wage sits at $7.25 an hour. “Our employees enjoy the benefits the district pro-
vides. However, most larger districts in the state offer the same or similar benefits packages,” Ryan said. “One of the things that set us above most surrounding districts is the fact that we offer a 30-hour-per-week contract, full time that does not require some type of work in the middle of the day. Our employees work a three-hour morning shift and a three-hour afternoon shift. This allows [them] the freedom to use the middle of the day for non-work activities such as appointments, meetings, recreation, etc.” Due to ESSER funds and a state grant, Rockbridge
County Public Schools in Virginia was also able to pro- vide its employees with a $1,000 bonus. Randy Walters, chief operations officer for the transportation depart- ment, said the money was paid to employees on Jan. 15. He noted that for the ESSER money to be distributed, the district had to seek public comment, post all plans
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
