Centennial board approves $30 starting pay for new bus drivers, $3.70 raise for current CDL drivers amid staffing concerns

The Centennial School District Board of School Directors voted Oct. 14 to raise the starting hourly rate for newly hired commercial licensed (CDL) school bus drivers to $30 and to increase current CDL drivers’ pay by $3.70 an hour, effective Oct. 4, 2025.

The motion, introduced as agenda item 7.1, estimated the direct cost to the district at about $275,000 and listed anticipated offsets including reduced overtime, reduced use of outside transportation contractors and revenue from a bus-camera citation program referred to in the meeting as “bus patrol.” The motion was seconded by board member Mr. Kinhart and passed on a roll-call vote, 6 yes, 0 no, with three abstentions (Directors Lynch, Crossen and Martin).

Why the board acted: Board members and public commenters said the raise is intended to address a shortage of drivers that has forced mechanics and office staff to drive routes and contributed to high overtime. ‘‘The $30 an hour pay will allow us to recruit,’’ said William Brandon Berger, a Centennial bus driver, during public comment, adding that some drivers work long hours and that competitors pay more. Multiple board members said getting drivers on routes consistently is essential to avoid students missing instructional time.

Bus-camera program and timeline: District staff described a concurrent rollout of a bus camera and citation system (BusPatrol) that officials say may generate revenue to help offset the salary increase. Transportation staff said agreements with local municipalities were in progress and that installation of cameras across the fleet would take about ‘‘a month and a half to two and a half months’’ once scheduling is set; installation will be performed by the vendor and the equipment remains vendor property, staff said.

On data and revenue, the board heard that the vendor stores video in a cloud and that the district retains access to internal video; the vendor receives reports of alleged violations and forwards citations to police. The district reported revenue examples from neighboring systems: Horsham had received about $4,400 so far; Bensalem reportedly receives between $60,000 and $80,000 per year, though staff cautioned receipts vary widely by district and timing. Board members stressed that revenue from citations is uncertain and will be realized only after implementation and enforcement.

Questions and dissent: Several directors said they supported raising driver pay to improve recruitment but raised concerns that the motion did not allocate any increase to bus aides or other transportation employees who also work overtime. Director Lynch and Director Crossen said they were abstaining because they wanted the board to consider a broader compensation approach that includes bus aides. Director Martin said the board should have more complete financial data and asked why the effective date was retroactive; staff replied the district would see savings in overtime over time and noted some retroactivity to cover recent pay periods. Director Hartline and others emphasized that reducing overtime by hiring more drivers could offset payroll costs over time.

Vote record: Roll-call responses recorded at the meeting show the motion carried 6–0 with three abstentions. Officials recorded the abstentions by name: Director Lynch (abstain), Director Crossen (abstain) and Director Martin (abstain). The motion passed and the pay changes will be implemented per the resolution language.

Outlook and next steps: Staff committed to provide the board with transportation overtime totals and updates on bus-camera agreement signings in subsequent weekly updates. The board discussion also flagged a broader compensation review for other hard-to-fill positions that will take place during budgeting and salary-review processes.

Action text (as stated in the meeting): “Be it resolved that the Centennial School District Board of School Directors 7.1 approves an increase in the hourly rate of $3.70 per hour for current CDL drivers and an increase in the hourly rate for newly hired drivers from $26.3 per hour to $30 per hour. Effective 10/04/2025 to increase recruitment and retention. The estimated cost to the district is $275,000, which can be reduced as overtime costs are minimized along with the reduction of outside transportation contractors and the bus patrol proceeds.”