Readers respond to last week’s Feedback Friday topic, which was:
Bus Driver Shortages & Solutions
For any parent of students attending public school, the school year couldn’t have started any more stressful, as systems were overwhelmed from the outset with bus driver and labor shortages. This has extended student wait times for bus rides to and from school, re-routed buses, and been a logistical nightmare for county and state officials. Additionally, contracted drivers with the Annapolis Bus Company went on strike recently, demanding fair pay and benefits.
This week, Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman challenged AACPS Superintendent George Arlotto to develop a proposal to address and solve these problems. Arlotto responded immediately with a proposal as such, calling for a budget increase to cover $5/hour wage increases to all drivers, as well as hiring incentives to attract new drivers.
Our questions to you:
Who’s at fault for this situation? Could the labor shortage have been addressed earlier, before the school year started? Do you agree that drivers should be paid more and incentivized with bonuses and benefits?
Here’s what you said:
I would like some more information. Are the drivers paid for all the time they actually work? I worked with learning disabled students in Ohio after finishing my degree during the recession of 1974. I was told I'd be paid $5 an hour (which was okay in 1974) but the catch was I was only paid for 50 minutes of every hour—the length of the period. But I had to escort the first period student back to their class and pick up the second period student and go to library or whatever room I'd be working with and so on; so the pay for a six-hour day would be 5 hours of pay. I see empty school buses driving 50 mph on Crofton Parkway (25 mph zone) and wonder if they are cheated out of the time when the bus is empty. I agree that drivers deserve good pay—that is the only way to attract good people. It looks like the buses have not been serving those neighborhoods where the parents have the least resources to take their kids to school. That is shameful.
Evelyn Harris, Crofton
Surprise surprise, surprise...Anne Arundel County school bus driver shortages. How does this current event in local Chesapeake Bay country not shock or alter any citizens perception of our current elected or appointed overpaid, bureaucratic, incompetent
Anne Arundel County government? The entire State of Maryland is reflection of this specific municipality. Imagine just for a moment what on earth these overpaid individuals have been doing during their plague vacations while the private sector constituents just worked their tails off trying to make a living, pay their bills and taxes, feed, clothe, and educate their families, friends, and community. Our government schools are failing at every turn. Imagine that
these overpaid administrators, who honestly believe they are “working for peanuts,” let alone their totally ridiculous state pensions. We the people are paying huge money to attend private schools and educational institutions to escape the government public school system. Now we are told that the major problem is school bus driver shortages. Anne Arundel County now boasts a population of 500,000 citizens. Maybe we should hire the current school bus contractor companies and school bus drivers to administrate the school system itself.
Gerard Hall, Annapolis
