“Health benefits are expensive, and they’re worth a lot to someone who’s retired and wants to work part-time.”


— Anthony Pollard, Baldwin County Public Schools in Alabama


Beaney, who has been in her current role for one year after 25 years as a transportation supervisor in a neigh- boring district, said she agreed that bus drivers are not compensated enough for the responsibility they carry. “… [T]his career choice has accommodated me being


home with my child when we have the same days off and earning a paycheck as well, with full time benefits,” she said. “More often currently, applicants come from a retirement status elsewhere, such as sheriff, engineers and county workers, and are satisfied with the current bus driver income.” Beaney, Caroll, Pollard, and Yarbrough all said that the


goal should be to get driver trainees to focus on what’s on the other side of the employment door, rather than simply looking to get through it. All too often, potential applicants don’t look close enough at what the job of driving schoolchildren entails. Beaney said trainees should be encouraged to weigh all


of the pros and cons when considering which job to take. She noted that some school districts tout paid training yet don’t offer insurance, paid holidays or other benefits. “A lot of people do not realize this is a part-time job but they do reap full-time benefits in our district,” she said. Yarbrough said Holley CSD allows drivers to work in other district positions, such as a librarian, classroom aide, cafeteria worker or custodian, to earn more pay and benefits. Without the option to work those positions, Yarbrough said, applicants often reject the notion of only a four- to five-hour a day job driving the bus. The district also joined its neighbors to create a PSA that highlights the benefits of driving a school bus. Beaney noted that her former district allowed drivers


to fill other part-time, in-house positions. “When a job is posted for a librarian aide or cafeteria help or other job, it’s always been posted for the whole district,” she relayed. “The transportation department is part of the district. It should be offered to all drivers and attendants, too.” Meanwhile, Pollard said a Baldwin County Public Schools review that determined the transportation de- partment employees have the oldest average age should be viewed for what it is and framed as an advantage. “A lot of drivers are retirees taking on a part-time job,


46 School Transportation News • NOVEMBER 2019


but they get full-time benefits. Those health benefits are expensive, and they’re worth a lot to someone who’s retired and wants to work part-time,” he said. “We also guarantee at least four hours a day, but a lot of routes are an hour or hour and a half. So, a driver may work three hours and get paid for four.” Yarbrough in Texas agreed. “We’re a very small school


district, so we just can’t afford to pay a lot. But we still offer a full-time position, so they still get all the benefits of every full-time employee.” Some districts that don’t pay new applicants during the training period take steps to compensate them with signing or longevity bonuses when they obtain their CDL or settle into their job. The San Juan district also pays bonuses—$1,000 for an employee who refers a driver, $2,000 for a newly certified driver and $5,000 for school bus instructors. Elsewhere, Baldwin County pays a signing bonus to drivers who remain with the district for at least six months. Carroll said he has proposed a $500 to $750 stipend to help trainees offset costs, but administrators have yet to adopt that approach. During the two to three months that it takes for a driver-trainee to become licensed, he said he will often assign them to work as substitute bus attendants to ensure that they are being paid. “I would like to see a program where people who go


through the training process receive cash compensation. There’s nothing to stop them from going somewhere else, but honestly, that’s on me if that happens,” Carroll said. Carroll said he has found that networking on the local,


state and national levels has helped him attract drivers, too. “I’m competitive, but not to the point that I can’t share information, he said. “If nothing else, it lets you know you’re not in the boat alone.” He added that he believes it’s past time that the indus-


try rebrands the role of yellow bus driver. “We need to do a better job of advertising and telling


the story. We need to show the benefits of the job, like the advantages of a split shift that allow you to go to the bank or the gym in the middle of the day when they’re not as crowded, for instance,” he explained. “There are a lot of positives to the job that we’re not showcasing.” ●


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