Association of Educators' leader advocates for higher pay for school bus drivers

The head of a local educator’s association has asked the Board of Education to find ways to increase pay for school bus drivers.

Mario Blanchard, president of the Pitt County Association of Educators, told the board on Monday that educators across the state agree that drivers are underpaid.

“We have to do a better job of compensating the forgotten folks that make education work,” he said. “Our bus drivers are often the first educators our kids see in the morning and the last ones they see in the afternoon.”

District 9 representative Benjie Forrest said Pitt County Schools has increased its teacher supplement to 8% and needs to consider a pay increase for classified staff, including bus drivers.

“It does seem like there are other groups that we at least need to study to see if something can’t be done for us to help lift all boats to a new level,” Forrest said, asking Interim Superintendent Steve Lassiter to look into ways the school district could provide a pay increase.

In an interview after Monday’s meeting, Director of Transportation Richard Hutchinson said bus driver pay begins at $16 per hour. Drivers, along with other non-certified school personnel, are due to receive a 3% state-mandated pay increase for 2024-25.

But Hutchinson said Pitt County Schools currently does not offer additional supplements or bonuses for drivers. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, PCS and several districts across the state gave drivers and monitors a raise. Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds helped to provide additional bonuses to employees, but ESSER funds are due to expire next month.

Hutchinson said that as of July 29, PCS was still about 20 drivers short of the number it needed to staff its 195 buses, with openings for full-time and part-time drivers.

District 6 representative Worth Forbes said having an adequate staff of drivers is critical because students who arrive late to class due to transportation issues miss key instructional time.

“These other classified staff we have, all of them are very important,” Forbes said. “In fact, you can’t run a school without them.”

Blanchard, a math teacher at J.H. Rose High School, made his remarks during a portion of the meeting reserved for public expression. He also advocated for the district to adopt an earlier start to the school year.

Blanchard, who made similar comments at a school board meeting in August 2023, said that 29 school districts across the state are not following state law on the school calendar. That prohibits traditional public schools from beginning classes earlier than the Monday closest to Aug. 26. He pointed out that schools in Winston-Salem-Forsyth, one of the largest districts in the state, are starting early than the law allows this year.

“That shows that this law needs to be changed,” Blanchard said. “I’m pleading with you all to petition the state with other counties so we can do right by our students.”

District 8 representative Melinda Fagundus, a member of the North Carolina Hunt State Policy Fellows program, said the state’s school calendar law has been a frequent topic of conversation among Hunt Institute participants.

“It’s being heard in Raleigh,” she said of people questioning the law. “But it seems like there are one or two people that are holding it up. That’s going on across the state.”

Also Monday, board members offered an official welcome to Lassiter, who began his new role on Aug. 1 following the retirement of longtime Superintendent Ethan Lenker. An employee of the school district for 15 years, Lassiter previously served as assistant superintendent for educational programs and services.

“I’ve watched you grow up,” District 4 representative Don Rhodes, a retired educator, said of Lassiter, who began his career as a teacher at W.H. Robinson Elementary School in 2004 and later served as an assistant principal and a principal. “Home-grown means a lot.”

Lassiter said he was excited about his new role and said that the school district’s leadership has been working to ensure a smooth transition.

“I truly do believe it’s going to be an amazing school year,” he said. “I want to thank the board for the opportunity to sit in this chair and to serve the community, the students and to be of service to this board.”