Pasco schools roll out quarterly incentives, report hiring gains for bus drivers
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Summary
The school board described a transportation recruitment and retention MOU that starts Dec. 1, 2025, reallocates existing transportation funds to provide quarterly incentives (up to $500) for drivers, and reported recent hiring events that reduced unfilled routes to just under 50.
The Pasco County School Board on Nov. 18 outlined an agreement to begin a recruitment and retention incentive program for bus drivers and transportation assistants starting Dec. 1, 2025, and reported measurable hiring progress following a November recruitment event.
District leadership said the memorandum of understanding with employee representatives uses unspent transportation allocations from unfilled positions to fund the effort rather than new dollars. "I want to emphasize, this is not new money," the superintendent said while describing the funding approach.
Under the program, eligible bus drivers may earn $500 per quarter and eligible transportation assistants may receive $250 per quarter. Employees assigned to designated high‑need routes will receive an additional quarterly incentive (an extra $250 for drivers and $125 for assistants). New hires who remain employed through the end of their hiring quarter may be eligible for a one‑time recruitment incentive; all payments are issued in lump sums after each quarter.
Operations staff reported concrete hiring outcomes from a November event: 37 candidates attended, 22 were offered bus‑driver positions, and 8 were offered transportation‑assistant roles. The district also fast‑tracked six trainees who already held required licensing; those six began driving Nov. 17, which the district said reduced the number of routes without drivers to 49. Laura Romano, presenting the operations update, said the MOU is an "immediate step" within a broader transportation strategic plan that pairs incentives with onboarding, mentorship and improved support.
The district framed the program as one part of a multi‑pronged strategy to stabilize service: incentive pay, strengthened onboarding, mentorship, attention to student behavior, and targeted assignment to harder‑to‑fill routes. Romano said the next transportation hiring event is scheduled for Dec. 11 at the district office.
Board members who spoke on the item emphasized the operational importance of reliable routing and praised collaborative bargaining with the union; several asked staff to continue reporting hiring and vacancy metrics at future meetings. The board did not take a separate recorded vote on the MOU at the meeting beyond including the program in the operations update.