As some students misbehave on school buses, Wake will pay employees to serve as monitors
Wake County will crack down on bad student behavior on school buses by paying school employees to take on extra duties as bus monitors.
The Wake County school board approved a plan Wednesday to pay non-transportation employees at least $16 an hour to ride on bus routes that have been identified as needing additional adult supervision. The board also agreed to pay at least $17.20 an hour to non-transportation employees who have a commercial driver’s license (CDL) to drive school buses.
The vote came as bus drivers told the board during public comments about students throwing objects at them and being disrespectful. The drivers said bus monitors are badly needed.
“I come to speak on behalf of a lot of bus drivers who could not make it this evening,” Cindy Hicks told the board. “We do have buses with behavioral issues. It is a challenge for us to keep our eyes on the road.”
The plan comes at a time when Wake, like other school districts nationally, has been dealing with a driver shortage and complaints about unruly student behavior on buses. Wake has a bus driver vacancy rate of 30% that’s left some routes uncovered if no substitute drivers are available.
‘Potentially save lives’
Three bus drivers shared their horror stories during the board meeting.
Hicks, a bus driver for 12 years, recalled a time when a student on another bus threw a substance out the window that hit her in the face. She said the incident was swept under the rug.
“It could have been anything, burned my eyes and I could have wrecked the bus,” Hicks said. “I could have had to go to the hospital.”
Hicks challenged board members to ride on the challenging bus routes to see for themselves the problems that drivers face.
Frankie Dixon told the board about a day when the students began chanting, beating on the windows and stomping on the door. He decided to drive them back to school rather than continue the route.
As he was driving back, Dixon said one student threw a large glue stick that missed him but cracked the windshield. Dixon said another student threw a glue stick that hit him in the back.
“That’s why we need monitors because our kids need safety as well as the bus drivers to and from school,” Dixon said. “It’s important that you pass this measure because we need to start somewhere, and I think this is a good place to start.”
Abeer Javed read a statement from bus driver Ella Lambert, who could not make the night meeting. Lambert said in the statement that she’s had many close calls, including a time when a student threw a frozen popsicle that hit her on the back as the bus was going down I-440.
“Having another adult helping me on some of our difficult routes will not only relieve stress on my routes, but will potentially save lives,” Javed said as he read Lambert’s statement.
Extra pay opportunity
The employees who agree to become bus monitors or fill-in bus drivers would do this extra work in addition to their regular duties. They’d be assigned to routes in close proximity to the schools where they work.
A long-running complaint from bus drivers is that it’s hard to keep order on the bus while trying to drive. Wake recently developed a code of conduct for students who ride on school buses or cabs.
Employees who agree to become bus monitors will serve on 48 bus routes at 19 schools. Wake has 560 routes. They’ll be paid at least $16 an hour depending on their years of experience and whether they’re entitled to receive overtime.
Non-transportation employees who have a CDL would be paid a minimum of $17.20 an hour to drive buses.
A.J. Muttillo, assistant superintendent for human resources, said the employees will need to get approval from their principal and show they can do the additional duties on top of their regular work. But he said it will be a way for employees to get additional income.
This story was originally published November 17, 2022 at 5:39 PM.
