The wheels on the bus go ’round and ’round, but the debate over fair compensation for Richmond Public Schools bus drivers may have hit a standstill. At City Hall on Monday night, School Board members faced an impasse over how to resolve ongoing issues with drivers’ overtime pay, which has been a contentious topic since June.

Dana Fox, the school division’s chief operating officer, presented a transportation update to the board members with potential resolutions that were heavily discussed. The board members explored several options, including providing two hours of overtime pay for each after-school run – regardless of duration, and potentially combining this with a $3 per hour increase to bus operator pay.

Most board members agreed that $3 an hour of overtime pay was too low for bus operators.

Fox responded that the negotiated overtime compensation was presented to the local chapter of Laborers’ International Union of North America, (LiUNA), a collective bargaining organization.

“I ... did not just hazily come up with $3 an hour. That was just a part of the negotiation,” said Fox, responding to board member Mariah White of the 2nd District’s question on determining the amount.

“The thought process behind it is in terms of their [bus operators] time, so whether they are doing their afterschool routes or their traditional a.m. or p.m. runs, that they’re making $3 an hour more.”

White also suggested to the administration that instead of raising the hourly rate by $3 for every bus operator, they should consider bus operators that take on extra hours for students during after-school programs and games.

“It’s good that you’re giving everybody $3, but those [drivers] that are putting in four or five hours and taking our students home from games, I think they deserve a shift differential,” she said.

The board members ultimately reached an impasse, with Superintendent Jason Kramas recommending School Board members to discuss negotiation matters in closed session.

The controversy began in June when an internal audit was reviewed by RPS chief audit executive, Doug Graeff. Graeff presented to the School Board that a total of $1.8 million in overtime pay was compensated to bus operators. According to the audit, some operators claimed overtime hours before working 40 hours a week. Currently, bus operators who pick up multiple after-school shifts automatically receive two hours of overtime for each route they run, regardless of how long the run takes. This discrepancy was rooted within the pay system tracking the number of work hours, in which employees were not required to clock in and out.

However, some bus operators say they were not to blame for the overtime hours and were just following directives from management. In addition, the overtime pay for after-school programs was an incentive by the district’s transportation management for bus operators. A collective bargaining representative from LiUNA, Willie Vinetta, shared her frustrations on the recent wage decompression and bus drivers’ overtime pay during the public comment forum.

“The demonization of our bus drivers for merely ensuring that all students get home after getting enrichment after school is truly distasteful,” Vinetta said. “Our drivers were incentivized to take on the optional additional runs after their eight-hour workday, which already takes 12 hours to complete, and these are the same practices and pay parameters RPS themselves have established for many, many years.”

In other matters, the board discussed long-term goals such as increasing the number of schools identified as “on track” or “distinguished” under the new accountability system, increasing the graduation rate and increasing students’ proficiency in all SOL subjects, specifically focusing on third-grade reading. The board also announced the recent appointment of a new chief engagement officer, Danielle Greene-Bell.