The Commerce Independent School District voted this week to increase bus driver pay in an effort to replenish its decreasing driver numbers.
The district ended the 2017 school year with 21 drivers, but started the 2017-18 year with just 13.
District Superintendent Charlie Alderman was a guest on Blacklands Cafe with John Marl Dempsey earlier this week and said that drivers in small districts like Commerce often disappear to larger districts. Those districts, in turn, lose their drivers to ever larger districts with higher pay.
Starting pay for bus drivers in Commerce will now be $17 an hour. That’s up from $13.84. THe ISD board voted on the pay raise in a unanimous decision.