NEWARK – School bus drivers in Worcester County are seeking a pay increase to deal with rising fuel and maintenance costs.
Dozens of school bus contractors attended Tuesday’s meeting of the Worcester County Board of Education to ask for increases in their hourly and per-mile pay. They said they couldn’t provide the service the county expected at current compensation levels.
“We are not asking you for what we want, we are begging you for what we need to stay safely on the road,” bus contractor Lori Thompson said.
Thompson and several other bus contractors approached the board Tuesday to share their concerns in the wake of the board’s Feb. 1 budget discussion. Thompson thanked the school system for continuing to pay contractors during the height of the pandemic, as that had allowed them to resume service seamlessly when schools reopened. As a result, she said Worcester was one of just three counties that didn’t have any interruptions in student transportation.
Thompson said contractors were asking the board to reconsider the rates included in the proposed budget. As proposed, it would increase the hourly rate from $22.58 to $25 and would pay drivers $1.62 per mile.
Better be $20.00 + an Hr !!!!!
Let me say. Has anyone ever seen a poor school bus contractor?Buy good used buses instead of new and get rid of the break down diesel buses with the D.E.F. and buy a gas model cry cry cry while you live the life of Riley! Every thing in society is excess1 Suck it up and move on you chose the job deal with it .
Nothing wrong with that.