The Coffee County Board of Education voted to create six new bus-attendant positions to support students with disabilities who ride district buses, approving a job description and a flexible compensation plan that ties benefits to hours worked.

The board unanimously approved the job description before discussing pay and benefits. Director Hargrove said the district is currently using bus drivers and overtime-paid educational assistants to support SPED students and recommended creating dedicated bus attendants “so we can provide better services” and keep drivers focused on driving. The district will pay the new positions from its special-education transportation allocation.

The board debated pay structure and implementation details. Special-education Director Westmoreland described training needs and the day-to-day role: attendants will support drivers, help with verbal de-escalation, assist medically fragile students and operate lifts when needed. Miss Nelson explained the funding would come from the district’s special-education transportation budget and that the plan would offset overtime currently paid to aides.

After discussion, the board approved a motion that authorizes hiring six bus attendants with this compensation framework: employees who meet a full-time threshold will be placed on the teacher-assistant pay scale with district-paid benefits; employees who remain part-time will be paid on the teacher-assistant pay scale plus an additional $1 per hour and will not receive benefits. The board and staff emphasized that the district needs flexibility year-to-year based on routes and student needs, and that the number of attendants who receive benefits could change as routes and hours change.

Board members pressed staff to avoid paying two people to do the same work during any transition. Several members asked the district to coordinate hiring and start dates with bus-trainee licensure so trainees can move into driver roles as attendants are hired. Westmoreland said he would provide approximately one- to two-hour training sessions on student behavior management and lift use for newly hired attendants, and the transportation department would handle driver-certification timing.

Board members also asked for operational guardrails. Miss Nelson and Westmoreland said the district would use a 12-week look-back to determine whether an employee averaged 30 hours per week; if an attendant averaged 30 hours per week over the look-back, the district would convert that employee to full-time status and offer benefits going forward. Staff estimated benefit cost at roughly 20% of salary per employee, noting the exact figure depends on the benefit selections the employee makes.

The vote to approve the job description passed unanimously; the follow-up vote to approve the compensation approach (hire six attendants; convert those averaging 30 hours/week to full-time with benefits; part-time attendants paid teacher-assistant scale + $1 with no benefits) passed after board discussion.

Board discussion and the final motion emphasized that hires, benefit awards and exact counts of benefited positions would be driven by student route needs and by coordination with bus-driver trainees’ licensure timing. Staff committed to track hours, report back on implementation, and coordinate hiring with the transportation department to minimize overlap and double pay.

Why it matters: district transportation is a recurring bottleneck when SPED routing changes. The new positions aim to reduce overtime and safety risks, clarify staff roles on buses, and keep drivers focused on vehicle operation while trained attendants handle student supports.

Details to follow: staff said they will report back to the board with implementation timing, the number of attendants who convert to full time, and a clearer cost estimate once hires and route assignments are finalized.