Bus drivers for the West Orange-Cove school district asked the school board Monday to help raise pay to get more drivers and monitors. They spoke during the citizen comments part of the regular monthly meeting.
Driver Joyce Perry said the board needs to take care of the bus drivers because the drivers take care of the children. She said the buses have been running with up to 74 elementary students on board. Then they have up to 69 middle and high school students. With that many middle and high school students on one bus, if a fight breaks out, the driver can’t get to it, she said.
Drivers are leaving the district because of the pay and the overloaded buses, she told the board.
Bill Lippman, who drives a bus for special needs students at North Early Learning Center, said he has been with the district six years and is making 55 cents an hour more than what he was told he would earn when he started. He said pay raise lets people know they are appreciated.
Later in the meeting, board members praised the bus drivers and said they want to help them. Currently the district does not have a transportation director.
“Please don’t wait too long to get them a raise,” Trustee Hardy O’Neal told administrators.
In other business, the board discussed, but took no action on erecting a sign to designate the high school football field as Leroy D. Breedlove Field at Dan R. Hooks Stadium.
Trustee Bryan “Chop” Thomas Muhammad said donors have raised the $4,800 for the professional sign for Breedlove’s name. He said they want the sign at the top of the scoreboard.
Board President Ruth Hancock said she opposes that because the scoreboard will need to include the name of Hooks Stadium. She said Muhammad had said the scoreboard would have both names ever since he started advocating for the field to be named for Breedlove.
Muhammad replied he never said that and Hooks’ name is all over the stadium. He said the donors want the Breedlove name on the scoreboard.
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
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