Board delays decision on raising bus trip pay after lengthy debate; policy 3.402 referred to Jan. 27 work session
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Summary
Board members debated whether to set bus field‑trip pay in policy — one proposal put the rate at $26/hour plus $1/mile, while staff suggested $20/hour. The board voted to send the issue to a Jan. 27 work session for a detailed trip‑pay scale and budget impact analysis.
A proposal to set field‑trip trip pay in policy touched off an extended discussion at the Coffee County Board of Education’s Jan. 12 meeting and was deferred to the board’s Jan. 27 work session for further work.
A board member read anonymous bus driver comments and proposed adding explicit language to policy 3.402 setting the trip pay at $26 per hour per driver and $1 per mile per bus, with adjustments every two years. "The rate shall be $26 an hour per driver and $1 per mile for each bus required," the board member said in presenting the motion.
District leaders, principals and other board members raised practical and fiscal concerns. The director and transportation staff said raising trip pay would likely increase trip costs passed down to families or to boosters for athletics, and cautioned against using fund balance for recurring costs. Board members and principals described operational tradeoffs — driver shortages, spring field‑trip and sports demands, and times when charter buses were used because district drivers were unavailable.
One staff member reported that an alternative internal proposal was closer to $20 per hour. "That was not $26," a board member said of the staff figure. The board also heard that chartering buses twice for football cost roughly $11,000 for those trips, an example offered of operational consequences when drivers could not be found.
Several speakers recommended updating the trip‑pay scale (the payroll trip sheet) rather than embedding a static dollar figure in policy. Finance staff noted audit and payroll processing requirements for any new pay scale, and recommended the board adopt a vetted trip scale sheet at a subsequent business meeting.
Instead of approving a rate on the spot, the board rescinded the original motion and approved a substitute motion to place the policy on the upcoming work session (Jan. 27) and bring an action item to the February board meeting. The chair announced the motion passed by roll call, "That passes 6 2 0."
Next steps: the board directed staff to prepare a trip pay scale and budget impacts for the work session and the February meeting so the board can vote with full payroll and budget details in hand.