School District Bus Drivers

[quincy]

There is no contract.

No contract to drive a school bus for the school district? How odd.

 

[Ipmatcdk]

It is, but there isn't one for any of us.

 

[quincy]

It is, but there isn't one for any of us.

Huh?

 

[Ipmatcdk]

we don't have any contracts for driving the buses. we just get paid. have any advice on how I can get paid for driving to the games?

 

[quincy]

we don't have any contracts for driving the buses. we just get paid. have any advice on how I can get paid for driving to the games?

So ... you are not employed by anyone?

My suggestion on getting paid for driving the cheer squad is to issue an ultimatum - pay me or I don’t drive.

 

[Ipmatcdk]

I am employed by the school district as a secretary. I am also the cheer sponsor. Additionally, I drive a bus for the bus routes in the morning and afternoons. I get paid for all of that. They want me to drive the cheerleaders to the game too, but not get paid for it. Just looking to see if there is any legal ground to stand on here.

 

[LdiJ]

I am employed by the school district as a secretary. I am also the cheer sponsor. Additionally, I drive a bus for the bus routes in the morning and afternoons. I get paid for all of that. They want me to drive the cheerleaders to the game too, but not get paid for it. Just looking to see if there is any legal ground to stand on here.

There might be but I would talk to a local employment attorney. Are there sponsors for school groups who are not qualified to drive buses? What happens when there are team sponsors that are not qualified to drive buses? Does someone else get paid then to drive the buses for those organizations? Does the sponsor receive a smaller stipend if they are not qualified to drive a bus? It does sound like they are trying to take advantage of you simply because you are qualified to drive the bus.

 

[quincy]

I am employed by the school district as a secretary. I am also the cheer sponsor. Additionally, I drive a bus for the bus routes in the morning and afternoons. I get paid for all of that. They want me to drive the cheerleaders to the game too, but not get paid for it. Just looking to see if there is any legal ground to stand on here.

Without knowing what the agreement/contract between the school district and the bus drivers is (and there has to be something that states who can drive the buses, who can’t, and when and where they can be driven), it is impossible to say what sort of demands for payment you can make that can be legally supported.

You can insist on getting paid for anything that falls outside your regular employment duties. What the repercussions will be for making such demands is anyone’s guess, with the information you have provided so far.

 

[cbg]

I am employed by the school district as a secretary

What are your regular work hours? Would this driving be during those hours, or in addition to them?

 

[Zigner]

If you were not the driver of the bus, how would you get to the games?

 

[quincy]

... I drive a bus for the bus routes in the morning and afternoons. ...

I assume the school/school district pays you for being a secretary in the school and you probably signed some sort of contract that covers your work hours and pay rate. I understand that the “cheer sponsor” position is a volunteer position (albeit a position that comes with token pay).

But who is it who pays you to drive the school bus routes in the mornings and afternoons? The school? Or are you employed by a commercial or mass transit or some other company that contracts with the school to provide buses and drivers?

In other words, is your school’s bus transportation funded by the state through a transportation allotment applied for by your school and then your school pays you out of these allotted funds to drive a school district bus? Or does an outside company pay you to drive a bus owned by the outside company?

Whoever pays you to drive the students to and from school on the school bus should be the one to okay any additional uses of the bus for transportation to the football game(s) and should be the one to pay you for the extra travel.

If your regular school bus route pay is funded through a state transportation allotment, use of the bus for extra curricular events or field trips (like football games) would not be an expense covered by the state transportation funds. The costs to operate the bus and pay the bus driver must be funded through some other method.

I think you are probably entitled to pay for driving the bus outside your normal bus routes but I suspect the school is trying to limit expenses that the school knows cannot come from the state (or school) transportation allotment. I suspect the school is hoping you will volunteer your services as driver so they don’t have to pay.