Brevard County leaders look to increase school bus driver pay by $5

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — The Brevard County school board is discussing efforts to recruit and retain school bus drivers for the upcoming school year.

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School officials said there are currently 90 open positions for drivers.

Officials are hoping a pay increase will bring in more applicants and help retain the drivers they have.

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“Today is an exciting day for our Transportation department. Everything wo do is dependent on our students arriving to our schools safely and that isn’t possible without our devoted staff,” said Board Vice Chair Megan Wright, District 1 representative. “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.”

The school board is scheduled to vote on the pay increase during it meeting on June 27.

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“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,” said Brevard Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Mark Rendell. “The bus driver is the first person many of our students see when they start their school day. This pay increase is a statement that we value these team members and the critical work that they do.”

School officials held a news conference at 12 p.m. Monday to discuss the proposed pay increases.

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Channel 9 was at the press conference and will provide more details on Eyewitness News.

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