![]() ![]() The new bell schedules in Sarasota County are changing on average about 15 minutes, with bus routes being consolidated to make up for staffing issues. So, it’s very difficult to live on that salary, $20 an hour." ![]() National Survey Finds Severe And Desperate School Bus Driver Shortage Anya. I don't think you can even get a two bedroom, less than $2,000, much anymore around here. Public Schools roughly 500 bus routes for the next three years. "You know, $20 an hour is hard to pay rent when the rents are now in the thousands,” said Dubin. The union representing teachers and school employees is pushing for an increase in pay for bus drivers.īut even if salaries rise above the current hourly rate of almost $18, the district will still face a challenge filling positions. The school board recently approved the schedule changes amid an ongoing shortage of bus drivers.īarry Dubin, is the executive director of the Sarasota Classified/Teachers Association. As we can't bring drivers on, what do we do? We try to break routes up, consolidate routes, do everything we can to run as efficiently as possible with the drivers we do have."ĭumas says with the "on average" 15-minute shift in school schedules starting this fall, fewer bus drivers will be needed to complete district routes. “Certainly, in this last year that's kind of hit us. "We have not only had COVID, but just literally across the United States, there's just a shortage of bus drivers,” he said. Sarasota County Schools Assistant Superintendent Jody Dumas, said the lack of school bus drivers is “a perfect storm” in transportation services. Meanwhile, Hillsborough County Schools has raised school bus drivers' hourly rate to just over $16 in an effort to recruit more of them. Pasco had attempted to fix the shortage in January by changing start times for several schools. Pasco County Schools recently announced that they will suspend bus service for families living within a two-mile radius of their schools. The district’s finance director explained in the meeting that they’re working with a vendor on rolling out a platform that could become a way for parents to work together in a sort of giant carpool to get kids to class.Several Tampa Bay area school districts have been trying to work around what’s becoming a perennial problem with transportation. "NRT Bus is successfully pursuing several recruitment efforts and has increased wages to hire more bus and van drivers to serve our communities despite the ongoing national driver shortage," the company said in a statement to NBC10 Boston earlier this week. (Image: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) Governor of Massachusetts Charlie Baker, a Republican, activated the National Guard on Sept. ![]() "We’re already in breach and we haven’t even started the school year, and it is frustrating and it’s not fair to our students and it’s not fair to our families.” Governor Charlie Baker deployed 90 members of the state’s National Guard to drive school busses amid a staffing shortage. “It just feels like at every turn NRT is failing us, but we’re rewarding them with more money, and I don’t think that’s fair that they can’t even start this school year off with being accountable for their contract," school committee member Jennifer Moshe said. School Committee members say they’re especially frustrated, after coming to terms with the union on a new contract after last year’s strike, that NRT isn’t providing enough drivers to the district. They are working on routes now and say they will pick up other students starting with those who are the furthest away and working inward – but hundreds of kids will be left without a ride to school. ![]() The school committee discussed what was sent in a letter to parents earlier this month – that they can only guarantee busing for K-6 students who live more than two miles from the school. Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. ![]()
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