The survey, distributed at Tuesday’s St. Tammany Parish School Board Committee as a Whole meeting, compared base average salaries, local operational and state operational pay in each district. Jefferson Parish pays the most. In comparing base pay alone St. Tammany was number two in the state.
The survey was presented at the meeting to clarify the process used to pay drivers, who’ve raised several issues recently because of confusion over of fuel costs and adjustments with operational pay.
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“It is absolutely our intention to be fair and also help make sure that owner/operators are using accurate information,” said Sloan.
Operational pay is intended to be used for maintenance, repairs, payments on bus loans and other expenses excluding fuel. The fuel adjustment is given to cover the cost of fuel.
On the 15th of every month, Director for Business Affairs Brett Stoltz said the per gallon diesel fuel cost for the metropolitan New Orleans area is obtained from the AAA Web site. Using this figure, an adjustment is made (up or down) to the fuel adjustment given.
Compensation is given on the basis of one cent per mile for every five cents the fuel increases. Currently, this is 89 cents per mile, according to the handout. For example, in March 2008, diesel was $3.91 per gallon. In April it was $4.02 per gallon, an 11 cents per gallon increase. Using the formula, two additional cents per mile were added to the fuel adjustment pay of drivers in the following month’s paychecks.
If fuel costs decrease, adjustments would be made the same way, subtracting the pay one cent per mile for every five cents gas decreased per gallon.
Therefore, if a bus gets five miles per gallon, the driver would currently receive $4.45 per gallon reimbursement. Current cost of the fuel is $4.35. The more miles per gallon the bus receives, the more the compensation goes up, according to the handout.
One of the issues bus drivers have are unpaid “dead head” miles. Not compensated by any parish in the state, dead head miles are miles driven with no students in the vehicle. Mileage begins in the morning when the first student is picked up and ends upon reaching the school.
In the afternoon, mileage begins when the students are picked up at the school and ends when the final student is dropped off. Mileage to and from the driver’s home (or where the bus is kept) is not included. Stoltz emphasized that this is not included for drivers in any parish, according to the survey he made.
However, driver Alicia Hickman asked that the administration work on coordinating routes so that drivers are not driving to schools from one end of the parish to the other on dead head miles.
For example, a driver may have a first route in Mandeville and takes the students to a school in that area. Then he may have to drive to Covington to pick up other students for deliver in that area. The miles in between the two areas are considered dead head and drivers are not compensated.
Sloan also included an explanation of other compensation. In the current school year, a 7 cents per mile adjustment was made to the fuel base. In a cost report spanning the past three years, it was shown that an increase to bus owners/operators alone of 85.6 percent in benefits of health insurance, retirement contribution and fuel adjustments was given totaling $2,647,879. This money came from the increased per student state funding.
During the same period of time, all other employee groups, including teachers, only received 14.40 percent of the increase in funding.
Sloan said, “It is not accurate to say (the school system) is not passing increases to bus owners/operators.”
Other concerns of bus drivers have included operating expenses involving increased cost of oil, oil changers, filters, tires and other maintenance required. This would involve an increase to operating pay.
Sloan said there is only so much money available, and negotiations in the collective bargaining process will determine how it is spent. A lot will depend upon the anticipated funding for the coming year, including the state funding, sales and property tax collections and other sources, such as grants.
School Board member Ray Alfred said it is good to see all this information, especially the survey.
Many parishes use a combination of owner/operators and salaried drivers using busses leased by their boards. Sloan said that although the district has some leased busses, there is a preference for the owner/operator because they better suit the needs in this district.
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Comments
WANTED A JOB wrote on Oct 7, 2008 2:06 PM:
1) A GOOD SALARY {NOT LOW 20'S}
2) ASSIGN ALL BUS DRIVERS A FUEL CARD AND REQUIRE THEM TO KEEP A LOG
3) PROBLEM SOLVED "
Gayle Sloan wrote on Jun 9, 2008 11:54 AM:
Looking For A Job wrote on Jun 9, 2008 10:17 AM:
Union What Union wrote on Jun 9, 2008 10:03 AM:
Doesn't she know we are tired of hearing the same old stuff about what she thinks she did for owner/operators?
She doesn't do anything for us that she doesn't do for other employees, you know the ones that have no expenses. There is so much in that so called contract that isn't followed and when you call the union about something does it ever really help? If you do get any satisfaction it usually takes several phone calls and alot of unnecessary time. "
cheese wagon driver wrote on Jun 9, 2008 9:49 AM: