Parents who would rather their kids ride the bus to school may soon get relief if recent action by the Boerne ISD board to raise driver pay results in an increase in hiring.
“Since March 12 offers to 12 bus drivers have been declined due to pay,” Mark Stahl, chief operations officer for Boerne ISD told the school board. He said the district had “made strides” by hiring five new drivers this year, but an additional 10 are needed.
Stahl, flanked by BISD Chief Human Resource Officer Jill Rhodes Pruin, sought approval from the board at its Sept. 17 meeting to raise starting driver pay from $16 per hour to $19.
In a memo to the board, Pruin noted that “of 11 area school districts, BISD has the lowest bus driver starting pay.”
The board voted unanimously to approve the pay increase.
Stahl said the increase to $19 per hour would help the district become more competitive. According to their websites, starting driver pay for Comfort ISD sits at $25.95 per hour, Blanco ISD at $21, Comal ISD at $16.24, and Bandera ISD at $17.
The measure also provides a $3 per hour raise to current drivers. Board member Rich Sena expressed his hope that the raise would increase retention of current rent drivers who, depending upon tenure, earn between $21 to $23 per hour, he said.
Stahl said that seven drivers had resigned since April and that “the impact has been felt around the district.”
Stahl said the district continues to offer a pathway for individuals to earn a commercial driver license (CDL). He said it is “an investment of roughly $4,000” to help such individuals obtain their CDL.
The pay raises, said Stahl and Pruin, would add about $240,000 onto the current fiscal year budget.
Stahl said ridership across the district had increased about 30 percent over last year, to a present level of about 4,000 students.
The transportation department has formed a committee comprised of drivers to examine present bus routes and practices and to make recommendations for improvements. This, Stahl said, was another component of the district’s efforts to retain drivers by improving efficiency and giving drivers a voice.
The board also approved offering a $7,000 annual stipend to aid in the hiring of speech language pathologists, speech language pathology assistants, licensed specialists in school psychology, occupational therapists and physical therapists.
Pruin said the district currently has 32 openings for such positions.
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