Sean C. Morgan
School District 55 bus drivers say that the cut in hours and pay from the four-day week has left them shorthanded this school year.
In response to a comment at the regular School Board meeting held on Nov. 5, drivers said they wanted to assure residents of the district that the buses are not overloaded and they are getting the job done.
Velma Canfield, president of the classified employees union, said in remarks to board members that the buses were overloaded and one bus was continually arriving late.
To clarify, she said, the buses are not overloaded, although the drivers may be overloaded.
There are sometimes not enough to handle every trip, she said. The late bus refers to a special needs bus that is on a different schedule from normal and not related to staffing or the four-day week.
“It’s only arriving late because of transportation issues where parents want their kids on different buses because of conflicts,” Transportation supervisor Dave Goetz said.
“We’re still getting the job done,” said driver Trinity Yoder. “We’re still covered.”
“They truly are short on drivers,” Canfield said. Two have quit for other jobs, one for lower pay but more hours.
As a result, the transportation department’s dispatcher has driven a route, and the mechanic has driven an out-of-town trip, said driver Brenda Tunnell. Drivers couldn’t get off from their regular routes, and all the substitutes were driving.
“They have had to do that before,” said Goetz, who assumed leadership of the Transportation Department earlier this year. “It’s not uncommon, although it’s not a daily thing for them to pick things up. How often (this situation occurs), I don’t know. I can’t answer it.”
Drivers make between $8,000 and $25,000 annually, according to estimates by several drivers.
“There’s single people trying to do it on their own,” Yoder said.
The move to the four-day week cost some drivers 20 percent of their hours, Canfield said, and the classified union has had no cost-of-living adjustments or step increases in the past couple of years.
“The only hours they’ve lost are the hours on Friday,” Goetz said. Nothing has been added Monday through Thursday. “I’m doing everything I can to try to offer them work to deal with that. There have been hours cut, there’s no question; and that would hurt anybody with that much time cut.
“I think the district is trying to find creative ways to get classified people more hours, but we are running into roadblocks.”
Because of the issues going on right now, he said, he probably shouldn’t talk about it.
“It’s a problem, and the district recognizes that,” Goetz said. “I know there was communication early on (about trying) to get staff development for the classified. We continue to try to find ways to get some classified hours back.”
Yoder said the drivers are dealing with the struggles and obstacles.
“We are pulling together as a team.”
Canfield, who is a special education assistant at Foster, said the drivers are the first and last school employees children see each day.
“We do it for the kids,” she said. “We don’t do it for the money.”
The drivers are trained professionals, she said. They don’t break the rules of the road, and they drive safely every day.
“They’re doing it for the kids, and they want their kids to be safe,” Canfield said.
The drivers are short two positions, said Dispatcher Cheryl Hicks. Those are being filled from the sub list, which will fall to two subs, down from a normal roster of eight.
It’s going to take time to train the new drivers and new subs once they’re signed up, probably three to four weeks for the new drivers, she said. In addition to driving, the mechanic has had to fill in as an aid on routes.
Goetz is trying to do what he can, said Tunnell.
He is trying to make it a positive atmosphere, Hicks said. “He wants us to talk to him and let him know what we think.”
Goetz said he has made some recommendations in the transportation department to save money. Among them, the district had been sending a bus to pick up a student or two. Now it’s sending a Suburban.