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Pender County commissioners approve $1.33 million package for bus pay, radios and Chromebook refresh for schools
Summary
The board approved a bundled budget resolution funding bus driver wage increases, pay for bus monitors, purchase and infrastructure for school bus radios, and a 2,000‑Chromebook capital refresh; county staff and school leaders discussed radio interoperability, recurring salary impacts and Chromebook replacement cycles.
Pender County commissioners on Feb. 3 approved a bundled budget amendment to support several Pender County Schools requests: increased pay for bus drivers and bus monitors, a mobile radio network for school buses and transportation vehicles, and a capital purchase of 2,000 Chromebooks to refresh the district—s device fleet.
Dr. (Don) Breedlove, representing Pender County Schools, told the board the district currently employs about 100 drivers (with a need for roughly 10 additional drivers), runs 93 AM and 93 PM routes, and logs about 608 driving hours daily. He said a listening series with drivers highlighted compensation, working conditions, student discipline protocols and communication shortfalls as key retention challenges.
Breedlove proposed raising the starting pay for drivers to $17.75 (from the district—s current starting rate) and increasing monitor pay; he estimated the wage increase cost at roughly $270,000 and the monitor increase at about $61,000. He asked the county to fund mobile radios for the bus fleet and transportation vehicles to provide an immediate, reliable means of communication in areas with poor cell coverage. The district—s estimate for radios and supporting infrastructure was about $400,000; staff explained that figure would purchase 100 mobile bus radios, roughly 20 transport vehicle radios, 25 base stations (schools and central office), antennas/repeaters and installation/licensing. The district emphasized it might be able to partner with county infrastructure to reduce tower or rental costs.
Finally, the schools requested a capital appropriation for 2,000 Chromebooks (about $700,000, using an approximate $350 per device price) to resume a seven‑year replacement cycle; the district said ESSER funds had previously covered refresh cycles but are no longer available. Board members and staff discussed whether the radio estimate would cover an interoperability solution with the county—s public safety radio network and whether a cheaper VHF solution could meet needs. A county IT representative and procurement staff said the school vendor had gathered regional quotes and that an RFP would follow for radios.
Commissioners moved to approve a single budget resolution that combined the wage increases, radio purchase and Chromebook refresh (the motion referenced a total of approximately $1.33 million during discussion). The motion passed on a voice vote; the county manager and finance staff said the immediate funding would come from fund balance for this fiscal year and that recurring salary increases would be included in future budget requests by the school system.
