Wake sees improvement in bus routes Wednesday, after two days of sickout headaches
After two days in which a sickout by some Wake County school bus drivers caused headaches for parents, things improved Wednesday.
School officials reported 80 of 600 bus routes without a driver on Wednesday morning.
That’s higher than a typical day, in which 50 routes need drivers. But it’s significantly lower than the numbers Friday and Monday.
On Friday, Wake reported 200 routes without drivers, who called in sick to protest working conditions. On Monday, 160 routes didn’t have drivers. Schools had a teacher workday Tuesday to coincide with Election Day.
Like school districts nationwide, Wake has a shortage of school bus drivers. That means the existing drivers have to do more work. The bus driver vacancy rate in Wake was 17% in September.
The sickout led to long carpool lines on Friday and Monday as parents had to take their children to school and pick them up. There could still be some problems Wednesday afternoon.
School officials recommend that families visit the bus updates page to check the status of their child’s bus.
At a school board meeting Tuesday, leaders approved a bonus and small raises for all employees in hopes of addressing employee concerns. The board will provide:
▪ A one-time recognition and retention bonus of $1,250 to be paid in the November paycheck to all employees who currently receive benefits. Part-time staff would receive a prorated bonus.
▪ An increase to bring all employees to a minimum of $13 an hour. This would be retroactive to July 1 and be included in the December paycheck.
▪ A 1% increase in the local supplement paid to certified staff retroactive to July 1. This increase, which would be paid in the December paycheck, would go to people paid on the teacher and student services personnel scales.
This story was originally published November 3, 2021 at 1:20 PM.
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