ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 23, 1995 TAG: 9512250007
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SERIES: Behind the budget
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
Harry Neumann just started driving a school bus for Montgomery County this fall, yet he's already been asked to cover several routes for absent drivers.
"It's pretty ridiculous when you've got a third-grader telling you what streets to drive down and where to stop. You don't know where you're going," he said.
Because of a lack of substitute drivers, Lisa Carver didn't know what to tell her pupils when she needed two weeks off for surgery.
"I said if it's big and yellow... get on it. That's all I could say because I didn't know how they were going to cover my route."
Other drivers tell of children sitting four in a row on a seat built for three or on the floor when the drivers have had to add another route to their trip.
The lack of substitutes, these drivers say, has been an increasing problem in the last few years. They say there's only one way to attract more people: benefits.
For the second year in a row, the Montgomery County School Board will consider whether its budget can shoulder health and retirement benefits for the more than 100 county bus drivers and aides, who ride the special education buses.
Last year, a committee made up of bus drivers asked the School Board to pay half of the benefits, but the board did not approve their request.
This year, the group is going back to ask for full funding for health and retirement, plus two personal days. Also on the drivers' wish list is access to a well-bank where teachers and other employees donate a sick day in return for additional sick days for themselves if a serious illness occurs.
They say they might as well try for everything this year, since they have nothing to lose.
"Morale is at the bottom," said Judy Yon, who heads the committee representing bus drivers.
More than 30 drivers joined the Montgomery County Education Association this fall. Last year, only three drivers were members.
The county pays drivers for a 20-hour work week. The pay ranges from $9.50 to $11.25 an hour, about average for school bus drivers in the New River Valley. The 20-hour estimate, says members of the committee, is a conservative figure for some rural drivers and for those who drive the special education buses.
The school system, says driver Laura Flight, is "living in an archaic age where they're expecting people to work for nothing. Nobody wants to work for that."
Denise Lacey, who's been in her new role as transportation director for less than a month, said the few subs they have are working almost every day.
In nearby Radford, the situation is even more dire. Although the city handles the bus system, the schools are responsible for hiring and training drivers.
Assistant Superintendent Michael Wright said they have no subs to drive a route or activity buses. He recently suggested benefits to the School Board as a way to attract drivers.
Yon and other drivers point to nearby Giles County as an example the Montgomery County School Board should follow. Giles provides retirement and health benefits, life insurance, three personal days and 10 sick days.
In the end, drivers say, the benefits represent an acknowledgment of their expertise and caring.
"Nobody does this for the money," said Yon. "We're all parents here. I always think, 'How would I feel if someone called me at work at 7:20 and said my child was still waiting at the bus stop because they couldn't find a driver?'"
Superintendent Herman Bartlett will present his proposed budget at the School Board meeting Thursday, Jan. 4, at 6:30 p.m. in the school office on Junkin Street. The Radford School Board will give final approval to its budget the same night at its 5:30 p.m. meeting in its office on Wadsworth Street.
LENGTH: Medium: 75 linesby CNB