School District U-46’s contract with its transportation union doesn’t expire until June 2025, but negotiations will be starting early in effort to draft a deal that might be more attractive to bus driver applicants, officials said.
Drivers are working under a contract signed in April 2021 but both sides agreed in September that collective bargaining for a new package would begin this year, district spokewoman Tara Burghart said.
“This would be an earlier start to contract negotiations than in the past,” she said.
Bus drivers speaking at recent school board meetings have said they are being paid less than drivers in other districts, a situation that’s contributing to a driver shortage and resulting in drivers being overworked.
Starting U-46 bus driver pay is $19.50 an hour, significantly less than the $22.68 paid by St. Charles School District 303 and the $25 rate at Palatine School District 15, union officials said.
“It’s been at least two years that we have been struggling with transportation,” said Heather Weiss, president of the District U45 Transportation Union.
The district employs 265 school bus drivers and has about a dozen drivers on call on an as-needed basis, Burghart said. That’s 11 fewer driver than they had last year.
Of the 48 job openings in the transportation department, 34 are for bus drivers, Burghart said.
Because of the shortage, some students are arriving late to school, which impacts instruction time, Weiss said.
“Our special education students need consistency, and that is definitely taking a hit with the shortage because we have to double up routes. This causes drivers to be overloaded and students to be late to school and even home,” Weiss said.
Burghart acknowledged this has been a problem.
“We do have routes that run late to school because of the driver shortage, which is why we are working hard to bring more qualified drivers and assistants onto our team,” she said.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, U-46 and many other school districts have not been able to hire enough drivers, Burghart said. The district has been holding job fairs, offering referral bonuses and using other recruitment efforts to close the gap, she said.
“We are working diligently to resolve the staffing challenges that school districts across the state are facing so that our transportation services run smoothly and (we) work closely with our schools to ensure that our routes are not overloaded,” Burghart said.
Weiss said the union has been told that U-46 officials recognize the need to offer more competitive wages.
“Our school bus drivers and assistants play a vital role in our school district, ensuring that more than 22,000 students travel safely between their schools and homes each day. We appreciate their dedication and service,” Burghart said. “We are committed to finding a resolution that recognizes their valuable contributions to our school community.”
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
