This morning, Ward 6 Councilman Tony Yarber had to make a quick stop before attending a meeting of striking Jackson Public School bus drivers: He had to drop his kids off at school.
“It’s already affecting everything,” Yarber told the Jackson Free Press today. “I am supposed to go out of town tomorrow for work, and my wife is already out of town. I might have to rethink going out of town because I want to make sure my kids get to school.”
Yarber, along with activist James Meredith, met with drivers at New Canney Creek Missionary Baptist Church in Jackson this morning to talk solutions, which may involve enlisting the help of a labor union.
On Dec. 4, somewhere between 100 and 180 drivers walked off the job to demand higher pay and a more secure work environment. The district employs 263 bus drivers to serve approximately 22,000 students who ride the buses.
The average pay for a part-time JPS bus driver is $10.79 per hour for a five-hour shift. Pay comes with health insurance, paid holidays and retirement, the Associated Press reported. The drivers, who are paid monthly, say they want to be paid more and more than once a month. Discipline issues on some routes have sparked concerns.
Yarber said city officials can do little but be an intermediary between the sides.
“I don’t think that the city actually has any direct statutory authority over this. That’s for the school board. But the city can play a role in helping to facilitate these talks between the district and these drivers,” Yarber said.
It’s unclear how those talks are progressing. JPS Superintendent Cedrick Gray told local news outlets that the district is working toward a resolution and that students who are tardy because of bus delays will be excused. Meanwhile, JPS is also engaging in a public-information campaign on its website.
The fact sheet indicates that only the state, and not JPS, has the statutory authority to move to a bi-weekly pay cycle from the current monthly schedule. Even though JPS drivers are part-time, they average a 5-hour workday but receive full-time benefits, which equals an additional $4,000 to $5,000 in pay a year, JPS said.
The district acknowledges that the drivers have not gotten a raise since 2010, but said that an equity study Gray commissioned “will result in a positive adjustment” to drivers’ salaries, depending on their experience and years of service, starting in July 2014.
“We acknowledge that student discipline on some buses, and some routes, require additional attention and has caused some concern for the safety of all who ride the buses. JPS administrators and principals are committed to working to support the drivers and providing rigorous enforcement of the discipline policies,” JPS added.
Drivers want more consistency to their work schedules, which he described as being at the district’s beck and call, and clearer lines of communication with district officials, Yarber added.
“City leadership, we’ve got to be a listening ear. I think we can bring folks together and give them an opportunity to clearly communicate what they are about so we can move towards a solution, and fast,” Yarber said.
Previous Comments
Maybe someone can bring readers up to date on the millage issue in an earlier article. The Mayor said that JPS did not need all of the money requested because they had renegotiated their ?????. Did the School Board and Superintendent not anticipate a possible strike when there have been complaints for years, especially with the fact that drivers are on buses along with many children and often with disciplinary problems. Certainly, if a teacher needs an assistant in the classroom; a bus driver needs someone to assist. There are many people who would work as volunteers – if asked. We could set up a Village of Grandparents to ride buses. It really “takes a village” to raise our children. This is an urgent problem with wide-spread implications: The Board needs to work quickly to solve this problem and expecting these drivers to wait until July, 2014 just ain’t in the cards and is not a solution. It is interesting that this strike is supported by the community which should be a big sign for remedy.
#4810 | Author: justjess | Date: Dec 9 2013
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median wage for a bus driver is $14.02/hour. Asking for a raise from $10.79 seems reasonable, and being paid more frequently than once a month should be a no-brainer, though I can see the state legislature dragging its heels on this just to screw over JPS. We don’t have Cecil Brown heading up the House education committee anymore—it’s Rankin County’s own John Moore, and he’s not going to do anything to benefit a majority-black district if he can help it. The disciplinary problem is harder to address, especially if the renegotiated hourly wage is closer to $10.79 than $14.02 (and it’s a safe bet that it will be). I like justjess’ idea of a volunteer program. I trust that bus drivers already have the authority to [refer disruptive students to the principal’s office][1], but if they don’t, they should be given that authority. [1]: http://www.aft.org/newspubs/news/2013/090613schlbusdrivers.cfm
#4811 | Author: tomhead1978 | Date: Dec 9 2013
My comment will probably recieve much criticism, but I don’t believe the state should be in the business of transporting kids in the first place. Take all of the budget allocated towards transporting students and spend it on teaching them. I understand that there may particular hardships, but the majority of parents can get their kids to school.
#4812 | Author: js1976 | Date: Dec 9 2013
You couldn’t pay me to deal with the undisciplined youth of today, much less volunteer.
#4814 | Author: tsmith | Date: Dec 10 2013
js1976: If we’re serious about providing universal public education, we can’t really afford not to offer the universal option of transportation to and from school. You may be right that the majority of parents can get their kids to school (I personally have no idea, and I don’t think we’re in a position to know), but the rate of truancy is already far too high; implementing a need-based or hardship-based standard for free transportation would exacerbate the problem, and in any case the standard itself would likely cost as much as the transportation system currently does (as we would then need staffers to review the need and hardship claims, conduct thorough investigations, oversee appeals, and so forth). This is a case where we’re likely to actually save money by doing the right thing. It’s a win-win.
#4816 | Author: tomhead1978 | Date: Dec 10 2013
Just my 2 cents Tom, but the core business of our education system should be to educate. I do agree that this could create truancy issues, but outsource the implementation of hardship monitoring and the costs would probably be a fraction of what the state could administer. I feel the same way regarding school lunches. Our schools have become nothing more than day cares, and they are failing to educate our children. Education should be the only focus.
#4818 | Author: js1976 | Date: Dec 10 2013
And what do you suppose should happen to the children of parents who can’t prove hardship to the satisfaction of the cheaply-run private evaluation service? Or the children who would not otherwise be able to eat lunch? (Maybe teachers can be equipped with smelling salts and glucose gel to resuscitate the kids who pass out during afternoon classes?) I’m not convinced that you’ve thought this all the way through.
#4821 | Author: tomhead1978 | Date: Dec 10 2013
Tom, I’ve personally attended several schools in Southern Ca. as a child that did not have a cafeteria. So yes, I’ve thought it through. There is nothing wrong with kids bringing a lunch with them to school. In regards to parents having difficult times proving hardships, I can’t really answer that because my vision isn’t a reality. Would it change anything if someone were denied by an over compensated goverment-run evaluation service?
#4823 | Author: js1976 | Date: Dec 10 2013
I will agree that eliminating transportation is a tricky situation.
#4824 | Author: js1976 | Date: Dec 10 2013
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