BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Bus drivers in Brevard County will be making more per hour.
The school district announced on Monday that drivers will now be making $20 an hour versus $15 an hour.
“Today is an exciting day for our Transportation department. Everything (we) do is dependent on our students arriving to our schools safely and that isn’t possible without our devoted staff,” Board Vice Chair Megan Wright, District 1 representative, said in a release. “We thank those of you that have stuck with us through this journey and welcome the new drivers that will a part of this amazing team.”
There are currently 90 positions open.
“Like many school districts, we are experiencing a bus driver shortage. With this significant pay increase we believe we will be able to attract new drivers and retain our current drivers,” Brevard Public Schools Superintendent Mark Rendell said in a release. “The bus driver is the first person many of our students see when they start their school day.”
Driver Mark Rainey applauded the announcement during a press conference at school district headquarters Monday.
“I cannot tell you how elated the drivers are,” Rainey said.
The bus driver told the school board last year some drivers were leaving the district or changing careers altogether because they didn’t think they were being paid enough to put up with some students on their buses behaving poorly.
“I’ve been spit on, spit in the face,” Rainey said during a meeting on student discipline in December.
The school board is set to vote on the increase on June 27.
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