Tucson Unified School Districtβs transportation department operations are moving in the right direction, with a healthy number of employees and a raise for drivers on the horizon.
As Aug. 1β the first day of school for TUSD approaches, the departmentβs roster includes 187 road-ready drivers, along with eight drivers in training. Six of the drivers in training are anticipated to be on the road for the first day of school, said Martha Zamora, the districtβs transportation director.
Though the number of drivers at the ready falls short of the districtβs goal of 200, Zamora said her department is encouraged by the numbers and the district is continuing to find more drivers.
Tucson Unified suffered a severe drop in drivers in the wake of the pandemic.
βWe lived that nightmare three years ago,β said TUSD superintendent Gabriel Trujillo. βOur driver workforce was down to about 140 (drivers).β
At that time, TUSD struggled with transportation, including temporarily implementing large-scale pick-up and drop-off hubs, which proved unpopular with families.
The coronavirus transportation βnightmare,β Trujillo said, caused enrollment losses.
βWe saw (families) leave the district for charter schools or sister school districts that might have been a little bit closer,β he said. βThen we also saw parents just give up on (TUSD) transportation and make their own accommodations for their kids.β
The majority of the most recent applicants come to the district without CDL qualifications, and receive certification through district training, Zamora said.
Aaron Lone-Eagle is one of TUSDβs bus driving trainers. He has more than a decadeβs worth of experience in busing and has spent the last few years as a trainer for TUSD. He said that while many have made the choice to drive at TUSD because of the job itself, money has come into play.
βThe hours werenβt there,β Lone-Eagle said. βSchool was out, people were doing homeschooling, everybody went their own ways.β
Since then, Lone-Eagle said, βWeβve been slowly building back up. The increases in pay have been good. I think this new one is a substantial pay increase. Iβm really hoping that it reaches out to people looking for a good job that can definitely turn into an outstanding career.β
Trujillo attributed the post-pandemic rebound of the driver roster to a raise given following the pandemic, which brought the hourly rate to $18.35.
Base hourly rate for bus drivers will increase to $21.33 an hour, as part of the districtβs 2024-25 fiscal year budget. Drivers earning less than $21.33 will get an average $1.53 raise. Drivers making more than the new base rate will receive an average increase of $1.14 an hour.
Employees were notified Tuesday they are in for a new raise, Lone-Eagle said.
βI think this substantial pay increase is going to catch attention from other people out there looking to find a good job,β Lone-Eagle said.
According to the district, $21.33 is the highest hourly rate for drivers in the area, matching Amphitheater Unified School Districtβs driver pay rate.
Competing districtsβ hourly driver rates present a βthreatβ to TUSD maintaining a sufficient driver workforce, Trujillo said.
The increase will cost the district $487,637, 40% coming from desegregation funds, along with contingency in the districtβs maintenance and operations budget, said TUSD finance chief Ricky Hernandez. Both desegregation and M&O funds are regular contributors to the busing services budget, Hernandez said.
This is a one-time plan, Trujillo said, and the district is still searching for ways to maintain the raises in the years following.
βWe donβt have the enrollment right now to be sustaining permanent increases to the budget,β Trujillo said. To recover enrollment, the district is embarking on a refreshed marketing campaign.
He said TUSD hopes to gain more free and reduced lunch-qualifying students, which could mean more dollars through transportation revenue. Those funds βare dollars coming from the state legislature that are directly tied to transportation,β Trujillo said.
Tucson Unifiedβs drivers will kick off the school year Aug. 1 by serving thousands of TUSD students. Of TUSDβs 15,642 eligible students, 8,130 have opted to utilize the districtβs busing services, according to the district.
The district has a helpline for questions related to routes, but has hired extra staff members at the ready for questions the first day of school, Zamora said.
βWe believe thatβs going to help the level of customer service we provide,β she said.
Route information availability is behind schedule, but Zamora said that Tuesday routes will be available to families on ParentVue, the districtβs hub for studentsβ families, along with voicemail and email messages going out to families.
