Hiring for school bus drivers continues in Perry County

Efforts to hire bus drivers for Perry County District 32 continue, although recent open houses have gone well.

In the fall, the district will begin a lease agreement with Midwest Bus Sales, based in Tonganoxie, Kansas, that could save an estimated $600,000 to $700,000, superintendent Scott Ireland has said.

Midwest Bus Sales bid $455,289 a year for five years. Ireland has estimated other costs at $727,903 for a total of $1,183,192. The approximate savings was the difference between the district's contract with Meyer Bus Lines and Midwest Bus Sales' bid.

The agreement with Midwest Bus Sales includes 41 buses equipped with three cameras each.

The package includes bus maintenance, and fuel will be included in the district's budget.

Fully staffed, the district's transportation department will have 34 drivers and 10 substitute drivers, assistant transportation director Melissa Hemmann said. Drivers and substitutes are still needed.

Applicants who do not own a CDL Class B driver's license must pass a written test by July 25 to drive a bus on the first day of school.

Drivers earn an average of $25 an hour, depending on the route, according to a news release from the district. Routes pay between $150 and $330 a week. Drivers earn five leave days per year, but do not receive district health insurance.

Ireland said 12 drivers who worked for Meyer Bus Lines have transferred to the district, but others have not made the jump.

"It's the same job, but a school district's procedures are greatly different from a private company's," Ireland said in a release. "There were a number of drivers who chose not to come to work for the district for that reason. The district also pays all nine-month employees, like bus drivers, every month. The benefit is that you receive paychecks over the summer, but the disadvantage is that your salary is spread out over 12 months."