Board approves two 8‑hour bus driver positions and new 8‑hour driver job description amid debate over claimed savings

The Taylor County School Board approved two personnel actions intended to reduce extra‑hour payments in transportation: creation of two 8‑hour bus driver positions (agenda item 12.13) and a new 8‑hour school bus driver job description (agenda item 12.15).

Personnel staff presented a cost analysis showing that converting recurring extra‑hour work into two full positions would reduce estimated transportation pay from about $63,000 to $41,000 in the first calculated scenario — a projected savings of roughly $22,000 — primarily by reducing overtime and extra‑hour pay. The personnel director said the new 8‑hour position covers ESE/short runs, BBTC student runs, early‑dismissal IEP transports and other duties as assigned, and that the district expects to use existing employees’ baseline hours plus the new positions to cover edge runs.

Several board members pressed staff for clarity on the routing assumptions and whether previous routing software or scheduling changes had been fully exploited to reduce runs. One board member questioned whether the net district cost will fall if expenses are simply shifted to other buildings or if overtime issues recur. The motion to create the two positions and the motion to approve the new job description both passed; Miss Donnell recorded a dissent on at least one of the votes.

The board also discussed that some drivers previously worked reduced hours and that the district’s historical change from shorter runs to longer contracted hours had been intended to reduce reliance on extra hours; the board asked staff to monitor and report back on realized savings after implementation.