SNOW HILL– School bus drivers approached the Worcester County Commissioners this week to ask for a pay increase.
With no action from the Worcester County Board of Education following a presentation last month, school bus drivers took their case to the county commissioners. They told elected officials they’re struggling to cover expenses with what they’re paid now.
“We are not here because we want to get rich quick,” said Lori Thompson, secretary of the Worcester County School Bus Contractors Association (WCSBCA). “We are here because we’re getting poor quick.”
Thompson told the commissioners she was speaking on behalf of the county’s 69 bus contractors in asking the county to consider spending roughly $223,000 more on student transportation. She said that increase would allow the hourly pay for contractors to be bumped to $26.29 and would permit the mileage rate to rise to $1.80. According to Thompson the increase is needed because bus contractors only net an estimated 28% to 33% of their gross income. When buses break down, repair bills can reach $20,000.
“These are not old outdated buses,” Thompson said. “These are buses with more than 50% of life left on them. One major repair could completely wipe out an entire year’s net income. These drivers have had to open high interest loans and credit cards to pay for repairs in order to keep their commitment to the board of education and our community and stay on the road.”
Thompson said that during the last five years, school system salaries increased an average of 2.75% a year while bus driver pay increased an average of 1% a year.
“We are at a crossroads where it is no longer economically sustainable for Worcester County school bus contractors to continue under current financial conditions,” Thompson said, adding that they drivers simply wanted to be paid a living wage for the service they provided the community.
Commissioner Joe Mitrecic said the drivers were paid a PVA (per vehicle allotment) that amounted to more than $20,000 a year for the life of their bus. He said that if the bus had a lifespan of 15 years, that would amount to more than $300,000.
Thompson replied that most buses went out of service after 12 years and said gross pay wasn’t the issue.
“Many of you are business people you understand the difference between the gross and the net,” she said.
Commissioner Chip Bertino said Worcester County’s average bus contractor was paid more than drivers in Wicomico and Somerset counties. He added that the school board’s budget for the coming year did include a pay increase for bus contractors that would bring their rate to $25 an hour. He said that was a 10% increase and was more than county staff would be getting.
“I understand what you’re saying but from where I’m sitting we have responsibilities across the county and right now with what was decided upon by the board of education we are already compensating higher than our surrounding counties,” he said.
Thompson said that if the county had to take on school transportation it would cost between $17 million and $24 million. She said the county’s bus drivers represented 696 years of experience in student transportation.
Commissioner Ted Elder, a retired bus contractor, pointed out that the costs of parts—tires for example—had gone up significantly in recent months and that labor rates had risen 30%. He added that he’d been told Wicomico County was considering providing benefits to contractors because they were having trouble attracting drivers.
“None of us up here know what the other counties are proposing,” he said.
Commissioner Josh Nordstrom pointed out that this was the first time in recent memory the commissioners had heard from bus drivers.
“You’ve had relative peace and understanding with the school board to this point,” he said. “That leaves me to believe there’s a problem. I’d like to hear from a member of senior staff from the school system to give us their perspective.”
Though school system officials were in attendance, Bertino said it wasn’t appropriate to begin negotiations in the middle of the meeting.
“I think this is the wrong forum for that,” he said.
Mitrecic said pay rates would be a part of budget discussions.
“This is not going to be decided today it’s going to be decided at budget time,” he said, adding that commissioners could question staff then.
Nordstrom said he just wanted to know what was different now, to lead the bus drivers to seek an audience with the commissioners.
Thompson said conditions—new WCSBCA officers, the pandemic, inflation and rising fuel prices—produced the perfect storm.
Commissioner Diana Purnell said the presentation had been informative.
“The one thing that’s sort of missing is the fact that you carry the most precious things that we have as parents in this county,” she said. “You transport our children every day. You transport our kids and you do a great job. I’ve learned something I did not know. I’d like to take this information and go over it and when we have our meeting with the board that’s when we can ask some hard questions and maybe make some hard decisions.”
