Maries R-1 gives bus drivers raise, increases fuel surcharge

By Laura Schiermeier, Staff Writer
Posted 7/13/22

VIENNA — The Maries R-1 School Board, during action at the June meeting, made several decisions about the school district’s contracted bus drivers pay and routes.

The first bus issue …

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Maries R-1 gives bus drivers raise, increases fuel surcharge

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VIENNA — The Maries R-1 School Board, during action at the June meeting, made several decisions about the school district’s contracted bus drivers pay and routes.

The first bus issue on the agenda was bus routes. Superintendent Teresa Messersmith said the board needed to decide if during the 2022-2023 school year if there will be six or seven bus routes. She said if the number they choose is seven, they “will have to find another bus driver, and we won’t. Rudroff will do it.” Rudroff is a company in Linn they’ve contracted with before. And, even with adding another route, Maries R-1 will still have kids who ride the bus and hour and a half. Some students get on the bus as early as 6:30 a.m. Messersmith said there was one complaint about this all year. 

Board member Dave Garro suggested they move on as they “can only do what we can do.” He said if they add another bus route, it will cut the pay of the current bus drivers. Messersmith said there have not been any complaints from the bus drivers.

Board member Mike Kleffner said he has concerns about the students being on the school bus that long and so early in the morning. He sees them on the bus that drives through Brinktown early in the morning.  Board President Vicki Bade said now is not the time to talk about that. Board member Dave Long suggested they ask the bus drivers what they want. Bade said maybe they need to get a committee for this and bus driver input is part of it. 

A motion was made to keep the bus routes at six. All voted yes, except for Kleffner, who voted no.

The next issue was the bus contracts and fuel surcharge. Messersmith said sometimes the bus route drivers need to use the school district’s buses and they need to complete the district provided form. She suggested they increase the amount the bus drivers pay to use the bus from the current 85 cents per mile to $1 per mile. Messersmith said the bus drivers use the district buses about 20 days during the school year. Bade said the drivers have to be accountable for that form the district wants turned in, and should not be given they key to the bus without it. 

Another issue is insurance on the contracted buses. Messersmith said the district’s legal advice about how much insurance the bus drivers should carry on their buses has changed. The advice was to increase the current $2 million coverage requirement to $3,065,952. The board members said this will cost the drivers more in insurance premiums, but they were not sure how much it would be. If the bus drivers don’t have enough coverage and something happens, it will come back on the school district. 

Bade suggested they tell the bus drivers about this as she doesn’t think they should get the bus drivers to sign a contract and then add more costs to them. Board member Matt Novak asked about the school needing a rider on the insurance policy and if they do this does the district’s insurance company need to know about it. Kleffner said they should talk to the bus drivers to see what the price increase will be. Messersmith said if the cost increase is minimal they can add it this year. Bus if it is “extreme” they can let them know it’s coming. Kleffner said if it’s not much, they should add it as he would rather see the school come up with the increase than to let something happen and have to pay for it. Messersmith said she will get more information about the cost of the additional coverage. They talked about the school paying the difference, reimbursing the bus drivers for the increase in insurance, which would require a letter from the drivers’ insurance companies.

The board members voted to increase the fuel surcharge from $2.45 per mile to $3 per mile. 

The board talked about raises for the bus drivers. Messersmith said some of the school district’s non-certified workers don’t make minimum wage. She knows a raise is important but suggested the bus driver raises be about the same as the certified staff raises were, which is about $1,500 or three percent.  The raise comes from increasing the mileage reimbursement rate by nine cents a mile. This puts the rates at $3.09 per gravel mile, and $2.71 per paved mile. The mileage pay increases will cost the school district an additional $8,601.97 per year. The board approved this raise.