Columbia Public Schools looks to renew agreement for bus services

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia Public Schools is looking to renew its contract agreement with Student Transportation of America, a bus company, for the 2023-2024 school year.

In a school board meeting on Monday night, the Columbia School Board will present amendment three, which details a plan to recruit and maintain bus drivers in the area.

The amendment proposes increasing wages for both bus drivers and bus monitors by 8% from the 2022-2023 school year. In other words, bus drivers would receive a $3-an-hour increase in wages, making the starting pay go from $18.50 to $21.50. Monitors would receive a $1.75 increase.

The amendment also notes that there will be a wage increase for all full-time positions necessary for all full-time positions necessary to maintain equity for positions resulting from the driver and monitor wage increases.

This comes after the district approved an agreement with student transportation services to provide transportation services for the district. As part of this agreement were two one-year renewal options, which Columbia Public Schools is utilizing now through amendment three.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, CPS suffered a loss in bus drivers throughout the district. As of last month, it was still looking to fill 25 positions. Through the increase in wages, CPS is hopeful that more people will be interested in driving in the area.

If the board agrees on the amendment, it will go into effect starting on August 1 of this year and will end on July 31 of 2024.

The meeting will be held at the Neil C. Aslin Administration Building on West Worley Street at 6:30 p.m. Monday night.