Hamden Bus Drivers’ Pay Reinstated, Minus Two Weeks

Nearly two months after they stopped getting paid, school bus drivers in Hamden will regain their paychecks, with back-pay to April 1.

Tuesday night, the Hamden Board of Education passed an amendment to that effect to its contract with First Student, which provides transportation for the district.

While other towns passed similar amendments weeks ago, Hamden proved a tough negotiator. The amendment the board passed allows it to pay 62.7 percent per day of what it would under the normal terms of the contract.

In Executive Order 7R, Gov. Ned Lamont declared on March 31 that boards of education should continue paying their transportation contractors. Because that executive order went into effect at the beginning of April, Hamden negotiated its contract amendment so that it does not have to pay for the period between March 13, when school closed, and April.

On March 20, First Student proposed that the board pay the full amount of $2.19 million for the period from when school closed until the end of the school year. District Chief Operating Officer Tom Ariola, who is responsible for the board’s contract renegotiations, did not accept that offer.

By the end of April, Ariola had negotiated a contract amendment that reduces the town’s payment by $1 million, to $1.18 million in total.

The purpose of the contract amendment is to allow First Student to continue paying its drivers, who have been without pay since March 13. ​“They are our bus company, and they will be our bus company next year,” said Ariola, so the board needs to make sure the company is in decent shape. If the company loses its drivers, it won’t be able to provide transportation in the next school year.

First Student did not respond to a request for comment in time for the publication of this article.

The amendment requires the town to pay for the salaries and benefits of employees at their normal rates. It also requires the town to pay for other operation costs that are actually incurred while schools are closed. The district does not have to pay for overtime expenses, non-routine maintenance, administrative costs, fuel costs, and bonuses, among other expenses.

The bus drivers who spoke with the Independent said they’re frustrated with the fact that they will not be paid for the last two weeks of March. ​“They’re only doing exactly what they have to and nothing more,” said one bus driver, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because drivers are not allowed to talk to the press. ​“They should have paid them from the beginning in the first place.”

The $1.18 million amendment is a maximum payment to the company, said Ariola. First Student will send invoices at the end of each month for its expenses, which cannot exceed that $1.18 million in total. If all of its drivers decide to come back, then Hamden will pay the amount. If some decide not to, however, the town will pay less.

Many of Hamden’s bus drivers are currently collecting unemployment benefits. If they opt to be rehired by First Student, they will have to pay back any unemployment money they received between April 1 and their date of rehire.

Another bus driver said he thinks a lot of drivers will not come back. ​“They’re fed up. They’re moving on,” he said, because of the long period of unemployment. That would mean short-term savings for the district, because it won’t have to pay for those salaries. But it would also mean it may have a shortage of bus drivers when in-person school begins again.

Ariola said the district currently has about $1.4 million in its transportation account. The contract amendment gives the district about $385,000 in savings. That money will likely get eaten up by overages in other places, however like special education, said Ariola. Special education costs in the current fiscal year have surged well above their budget. The district is also anticipating a $2.1 million deficit in the next fiscal year if the Legislative Council follows the mayor’s recommendation for funding the board.

Ariola said he’s still in the process of negotiating with other contractors, trying to realize savings where possible, but that he does not yet know how much the district will be able to save due to school closures.