Associate Superintendent Roger McMichael gives the school board a brief summary of the agreement with the Bus Driver Association. McMichael said the agreement includes a raise of $4.50 onto the drivers’ $120.50 daily rate and an additional $2.50 in the second year.

The CCS school board met on Oct. 30 to finalize the discussions surrounding the 2024 Budget Plan, which was open for public comment on Oct. 17. This budget plan, worth approximately $250 million, had to be approved by the school board before being passed onto the state. Board member Greg Brown said he was concerned about the school’s spending and also the allocation of the money.

“(The budget) is over a quarter billion dollars and I take that pretty seriously,” Brown said. “I think we’re going to need to develop a budget from more of what we might need rather than what all is available because it could get to a point where we’ve got an awful lot of money out there. I think we need to be mindful of not spending everything just because it’s there.”

Brown also expressed concerns with the allocation of the funds in the safety budget. 45% of the funds go to school resource officers (SROs) while the other 55% go to other operations. Brown said the funds for SROs should be a higher percentage and is more important than the rest of the miscellaneous safety operations.

Louise Jackson, Vice President of the school board, questioned Brown’s view on the school district’s budget.

“If we didn’t spend all of the money, what are you suggesting would be a better way of spending it? What is the alternative?” Jackson said. “Also, are you saying that the other 55% isn’t safety related or are you just saying you would be more supportive if it was 100% on SROs and not on other things that are safety related because it just sounds like (you are making an) observation right now.”

The board, after the discussion, voted 4-0 with Brown abstaining from the vote.

The meeting also covered the wage agreements from the Bus Driver Association. Associate Superintendent Roger McMichael said bus drivers are paid on a daily basis and will have their daily rates increased. He said they are adding $4.50 on a $120.50 daily rate in the first year and then $2.50 in the second year.

Senior Caleb Kim, a student who has taken the bus frequently, said this raise does not seem like much considering the amount of work bus drivers do.

“They get up early, they clean the buses, they work hard to be on time and get us to and from school,” he said. “A $4.50 raise to their daily pay seems unreasonably low and it could hardly be called a raise. I think the school district needs a bigger raise to attract more bus drivers and maintain the ones we have right now.”

The agreement with the Bus Driver Association was approved 5-0. The next meeting will be on the morning of Nov. 27.