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Board approves new activity bus pay structure to retain experienced drivers and reduce contracting costs
Summary
After hearing cost comparisons and driver-safety concerns, the board approved paying activity drivers their regular hourly rate for trips (except certain off-duty motel situations), a change administrators said would reduce reliance on contracted services and better compensate layover time.
The Flathead School District Board on motion approved a change to activity bus driver pay intended to keep experienced drivers on difficult trips and to cut the district's contracting costs.
Administrators presented a comparison showing that contracting some long trips can be more expensive once maintenance and vehicle depreciation are counted. The staff proposal moves activity-trip pay to driversstraight hourly pay at their position rate, with a limited exception for drivers sent off-site to a motel who would not be paid for that off-duty time.
The superintendent and transportation staff described the work drivers perform during layovers: keeping buses warm, shuttling between events, supervising students and maintaining operational readiness in adverse conditions. "It's not like they're relaxing — it's a very stressful situation," an administrator said, arguing layover time should be treated as work time when drivers remain with the bus.
Trustees asked how the new matrix handles years-of-service differences, how trips are assigned and when the district would contract out. Staff said the proposed pay uses the new driver-pay matrix so drivers with more years of service receive commensurate hourly pay, which the district expects will both reward experience and make in-house coverage more likely. A finance overview showed sample contracted-trip totals and an in-house estimate that included wages, maintenance and depreciation; staff said in most examples doing trips in house cost less than contracting once those factors were included.
After discussion and public questions about assignment of trips and clarifications on what counts as work time, a trustee moved to adopt the change; the board seconded and the chair announced the motion carries.
The board did not specify a timeline for implementation during the discussion; staff indicated spreadsheets and additional data had been prepared and would be used to finalize payroll adjustments.
