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Concord School Board approves interim UAW contract to boost pay for bus drivers and monitors
Summary
The Concord School District board approved a one-year interim bargaining agreement with the UAW transportation unit, retroactive to Jan. 24, 2025, to raise pay for bus drivers and monitors and help address driver shortages; the district estimates the change will cost about $89,000 through June 30 and be covered from unexpended funds.
The Concord School District board on Jan. 24 approved an interim, one-year bargaining agreement with the UAW transportation unit that raises pay for bus drivers and bus monitors, a move administrators say is aimed at addressing a shortage of drivers that has forced the district to rely on third-party transportation.
The agreement, approved as “option B,” is retroactive to Jan. 24, 2025, and was described by district staff as a pay-scale modification for the remainder of the school year. “This is a one-year agreement for the remainder of this school year, and then we will negotiate for [a longer contract],” a district staff member, Mr. Dunn, said during the special board meeting. He said the district entered interim bargaining because of the need to attract drivers.
Board members heard that the union’s membership voted for option B and that the board’s negotiations committee recommended the same. If approved, the district will post job advertisements the next day using the new rates; the district said it would issue two checks on Jan. 28 — including a catch-up payment and an additional payment covering recent work and the remainder of the school year — for covered employees.
Administrators estimated the cost to the district at about $89,000 through the end of the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. “We’re going to use funds that we anticipate to have unexpended for the drivers because we can’t hire them,” Mr. Dunn said, adding that the change should be covered by those funds although the district’s year-end fund balance would be smaller as a result.
Board members asked how the agreement would affect summer transportation. Board member Tedeschi said the district’s staff — referenced in the meeting as Jack — estimated it would be “probably about half the drivers” who participate for summer programs. Administrators added that roughly 400 children participate in the district’s Title I and special-education summer programs, and summer routes typically serve a smaller fraction of the full school-year fleet.
The board heard that the district operates 26 large buses and 12 small buses and that, when drivers are absent, staff call third-party providers to cover trips. District staff also said the finance committee has considered buying non-CDL vans to supplement routing; those vans would not necessarily reach the previously discussed maximum of 20 vans but could reduce reliance on third-party providers.
The motion to approve the interim bargaining contract for bus drivers and bus monitors (option B), effective Jan. 24, 2025, was moved by Board member Mink and seconded by Board member Campbell. The board voted in favor; the chair declared the motion carried.
The district said negotiations for a new contract that would begin July 1 will start later this year. The board recessed the special meeting to begin a scheduled budget work session and said a nonpublic session would follow.
