![]() ![]() ![]() It takes potential commercial vehicle drivers one to three weeks to get an appointment at the MVA, according to Paul Lebo, chief operating officer in Frederick County Public Schools. In addition to a low starting salary amid a global pandemic, other challenges include a long wait time at the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, bus contractors and local school leaders told lawmakers. There is no money in the Blueprint For Maryland’s Future, the state’s sweeping decade-long education reform plan, that addresses bus driver compensation, according to John Woolums, the director of governmental relations of Maryland Association of Boards of Education. PCGPS also administered random drug testing for bus drivers during the pandemic and lost a number due to those results, he said. Although the school district has hired 50 to 60 new school bus drivers this school year, they also lost around the same number of drivers, he said. Prince George’s County Public Schools still has 200 bus routes that do not have drivers and some drivers are going to five schools a day, said Rudolph Saunders, director of transportation for PGCPS. In Howard County this week, school bus drivers held a “sick-out,” leading County Executive Calvin Ball to commit $2 million in American Rescue Plan funds to help bus driver retention and hiring. “These barriers, combined with a general shortage of individuals with license, have undermined our efforts to get more drivers in the buses and more children to the classroom safely,” Olszewski said in a press conference Tuesday. In addition, Baltimore County government will cover the $100 background checks and other pre-employment costs such as drug testing that could cost up to $220, both of which new bus drivers traditionally pay for. In Baltimore County, the additional money will come from the federal American Rescue Plan stimulus. (D) also recently announced a $5.2 million investment in wage increases, job incentives and sign-on and retention bonuses for school bus drivers. The Maryland State Department of Education does not have any involvement in bus driver contracts between private companies and local school districts, said Gabriel Rose, the director of pupil transportation for MSDE.Īround 75% of Maryland public school students use school buses as their main source of transportation to school, but out of 24 local school systems, Kent, Garrett and Worcester counties were the only school districts that reported they had a driver assigned for every bus route, according to MSDE.Īnne Arundel was one of the first school districts to address bus driver shortages by allocating $7.4 million for bus driver wage increases. Bus contracts usually last 12 years, which is also the life of the bus, Reid said. Usually bus drivers in Calvert County can collect unemployment benefits during the summer months, but this was particularly difficult this year with the pandemic and challenges navigating the state’s new unemployment portal, BEACON 2.0.Īround half of the 7,300 school buses in Maryland are contractor-owned Montgomery, Frederick, Talbot and Prince George’s are the only counties that directly own and operate their school bus fleets, according to Appel. “It really is terrible that something that drastic has to occur in order for the system to listen.”īut Calvert County Public Schools is not funding school bus drivers’ health care plans, she said. “Many of the things that we’ve asked for, including the salary increase…have been turned down until the drivers walked out,” said Gayle Gustus, a school bus contractor in Calvert County. Last month, bus drivers in Calvert County held a strike in protest of low wages and benefits and the school district agreed to a salary increase. ![]() She testified about the shortage of school bus drivers before state lawmakers in a virtual briefing on Wednesday. That average starting salary is considerably less than any other commercial driver license holder - including those who operate dump trucks or deliver for Amazon or DoorDash - said Erin Appel, who represents Maryland School Bus Contractor Association. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.įaced with a nationwide shortage of school bus drivers, some Maryland county executives and school district leaders are pumping more money to increase drivers’ wages, whose average starting salary is $19.45 an hour, according to the Maryland State Department of Education. This content was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Business & Finance Click to expand menu. ![]()
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