LEXINGTON, Ky. — Fayette County bus drivers and monitors will soon find more money in their pockets. The Fayette County Board of Education agreed to fund bonuses and higher pay rates to ease shortages in the district's Transportation Department, according to a post on Fayette County Public School's (FCPS) website.

Chief Operating Officer Myron Thompson presented the proposal at the board's March 1 specially called meeting after consulting with budget staff over the weekend. Board members unanimously supported the supplemental pay structure for drivers and monitors as well as a revised hourly pay rate for substitute drivers for the rest of the 2020-21 school year. 

Beginning immediately, drivers who complete both their a.m. and p.m. routes will receive a $30 per day bonus, monitors who complete both their a.m. and p.m. routes will get a $20 per day bonus, and substitute drivers will earn $30 an hour, which is up from $14.

FCPS students in grades K-2 returned the week of Feb. 22 for in-person instruction, and at the school board's regular action meeting that night, Thompson touched on the pressure on transportation due to significant attrition and a drop in applications during COVID-19.

“The first week of bus routes and staff absences revealed that we needed to make an immediate change if we are going to be able to keep our buses running,” said Acting Superintendent Marlene Helm. “This [proposal] will help us get through the next 52 days. We know we’ll need a longer-term solution.”