<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0oChq1_1GxYU5BD00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0oChq1_1GxYU5BD00" width="1126" height="604" ></figure>In the past week, Laurens County School District 55 (LCSD55) and the families attending have experienced a setback taking the bus to and from school. There were several days families experienced significant delays in pick up and drop off and on Nov. 9, the district announced an e-learning day.While bus driver shortages are plaguing school districts across the country, Interim Superintendent Dr. Rhett Harris said the district’s specific situation dates back to the beginning of the school year.“I knew as assistant superintendent of operations we had some overpaying in transportation and brought those concerns to the board finance committee and later, to the Board of Trustees,” Harris said. “What was going on was so alarming, everyone agreed it had to be dealt with immediately. That’s what started all of the bus issues.”The “alarming” concerns was a school district who was already struggling financially, finding what amounted to double pay for some drivers.The district pays all full-time bus drivers for 7.5 hours per day, plus benefits. If a driver took a run in the middle of the day, they were billing the district for those additional hours on top of the full day’s pay.“This was happening for over 20 years. We pay overtime once you’re over 40 hours and we still do, but we were getting time sheets submitted for 96 hours in a week,” Harris said.Despite the difficulty of changing a long-standing but financially unhealthy practice, policies were put in place. The district explained to bus drivers that they would be paid for 7.5 hours per day and increased wages by 5% at the beginning of the school year (making wages higher than required by the state). They also continue to pay overtime for those that work over 40 hours per week but employees cannot double charge for one day of work.Additionally, a policy already in place stated employees could not work two full-time jobs per day with the district. One could not drive a bus full-time and work as a teachers aid full-time, for example.“This was a big cultural change for our drivers and a big change in wages for many but the district simply can’t afford to continue to do it that way,” Harris said. “We paid drivers over $300,000 in overtime last year and that had to be addressed.”Drivers were left with some decisions to make.Some, who were working two full-time jobs had to choose one or the other, causing the district to lose a driver or two. Some drivers chose to resign given the policies in place and the district lost another employee or two.The result is a serious shortage in drivers to get students to and from school in a timely fashion, however, the district is working to correct the situation as quickly as possible.“We’re evaluating routes to make sure we’re being as efficient as possible. We’ve asked for volunteers who have a CDL license to help and the State has called me about support needed,” Harris said. “We have students being picked up in our school van and drivers doing double routes. We’re doing everything we can to get students to school.”The district is also actively hiring CDL licensed drivers, have already hired a few, and can help those interested in getting their CDL license, though the process takes several weeks.Harris said he feels for parents who are struggling with the confusing and unpredictable schedules. He knows things will get back to normal; he just doesn’t know how long it will take.One thing Harris does know, is that the district is not going back to the way things were.“We can’t afford it. I think we’re being fair and a lot of our drivers are going above and beyond. They’re doing double routes and getting our students to school. We appreciate them,” Harris said. “I know it’s been disruptive but I’m also encouraged that our school buildings are saying as far as the classroom and what our teachers are doing, things are going well. I feel good about what’s going on in the buildings.”Visit https://www.laurens55.org/ to view open positions.</div></body>

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In the past week, Laurens County School District 55 (LCSD55) and the families attending have experienced a setback taking the bus to and from school. There were several days families experienced significant delays in pick up and drop off and on Nov. 9, the district announced an e-learning day. While...

District 55 transportation disruption: Changes to longstanding pay practices lead to driver shortage

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In the past week, Laurens County School District 55 (LCSD55) and the families attending have experienced a setback taking the bus to and from school. There

District 55 transportation disruption: Changes to longstanding pay practices lead to driver shortage

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