Administrative Letters

Washington County School District Policy Approved and Sanctioned by the Board of Education.

A110 - Non-Benefited Contract Bus Driver Availability Incentive Program

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 Administrative Letter #110 Non-Benefited Contract Bus Driver Availability Incentive Program - Approved 08/08/2016

DATE:                 August 8, 2016 – 

FROM:                Superintendent Larry Bergeson 

REGARDING:   Non-Benefited Contract Bus Driver Availability Incentive Program

Non-Benefited Contract Bus Driver Availability Incentive Program

Definitions for this program are: 

• Contract Year: means the school year beginning in August and concluding the following May.
• AM/PM Contract Driver (Driver): A qualified Non-Benefited bus driver hired and assigned to both an AM and PM route totaling 20 hours or more per week. Substitute Drivers, Drivers assigned to contracts that includes an AM or PM route only, or Drivers with AM-PM routes totaling less than 20 contract hours per week are not eligible for this program.
• Non-Benefited: means an employee who is not eligible for enrollment in District health insurance benefits during the current Contract Year, regardless of URS enrollment status.
• Midday Bus Assignment (Assignment): Means any extra bus driver assignment that falls between the driver’s AM-PM Contract to include, but not limited to, activity routes, substitute needs, or any other assignment issued by the District transportation office. To be considered a valid Assignment, it must be communicated to the Driver at least one hour prior to the start of the Assignment  and   must be reasonably located so as to not conflict with the Driver’s ability to complete their AM or PM Contract. AM-PM Drivers with contracts of 20 hours or less a week are not qualified.
• Incentive Stipend: means the bonus payment available to Drivers, as calculated in paragraph 4, “Incentive Amount”.  
• Pay Period Voluntary Availability Form: The form that must be completed by Drivers 5 days prior to a new pay period in order to be considered for the Incentive Program.  See attached. 

 Availability Incentive Stipend:

1. Purpose: This Incentive Program is intended to create a financial incentive for Drivers who have signed a Pay Period Voluntary Availability Form stating that they are and will be available during the pay period to perform a Midday Bus Assignment. Drivers may request a reasonable accommodation or adjustment to this program based on disability or medical condition.  Requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis by contacting the District ADA Coordinator at (435) 673-3553 Ext. 5119, or email: ada_coordinator@washk12.org
2. Eligibility: Drivers must:
   1. Have texting capability on their personal phone. While texting capability is a qualifying requirement, Drivers must not text or otherwise use their cell phone while driving. If a text is received while driving, the text should only be responded to when it is safe and legal to do so. 
   2. Have a current signed Non-Benefited AM-PM Contract.
   3. Sign a Pay Period Voluntary Availability Form at least 5 days prior to the start of the next Pay Period for each month the Driver is volunteering to participate in the Incentive Program.
3. Status of Employment:
   1. Voluntary availability is not a mandatory part of Drivers’ AM/PM Contract. Failing to volunteer for Assignments will not result in discipline of any kind.
   2. Volunteering for availability does not preclude AM/PM Contract Drivers from engaging in personal pursuits between their AM and PM routes. Volunteering means a Driver can be available in not less than 1 hour if he/she receives an offer for an Assignment but Drivers are not required to remain on site, wear any particular uniform, or otherwise remain on the District’s clock.   Drivers should feel free to enjoy time off between AM and PM routes so long as the Driver responds immediately to an offer and is available to take an Assignment within an hour on the days the Driver indicates availability. 
4. Incentive Amount:
   1. Drivers will receive a qualified Incentive Stipend at the end of the pay period if the eligible driver accepts all Assignments offered during the month.
   2. The Incentive Stipend will be calculated by adding up the number of actual school contract days (Available Days) in the pay period less the days the Driver accepted an Assignment multiplied by $25. The Driver will be paid hourly for the Assignment on the days the Driver accepts an Assignment.
   3. Drivers will not receive any of the Incentive Stipend if s/he is not available or otherwise declines any offered Assignment in the pay period month.
5. Method of Offering an Assignment:
   1. Each month eligible Drivers who want to participate in the Incentive Program must submit a signed Pay Period Voluntary Availability Form to the District Transportation Department at least five days prior to the start of the pay period.
   2. The Transportation Department will add the Driver’s name to the list of interested Drivers.
   3. The list will be randomly sorted.
   4. The Transportation Department will use the list to select and offer an Assignment to the next person on the list each time there is a need to fill an Assignment. Exceptions will not be made to the order of offering assignments from the list.
   5. The Transportation Department will offer the Assignment by texting the offer to the Driver using the phone number identified on the Driver’s Pay Period Voluntary Availability Form.
   6. The Driver must acknowledge and accept the Assignment within 5 minutes of receiving the text by replying to the text “Accept Assignment” or some variation with the same meaning.
   7. Failure to acknowledge the text, not respond, or otherwise not accept the Assignment, for any reason, within 5 minutes of an offer will be considered a declination of an offered Assignment.
   8. If the Driver is not available or otherwise declines any offered Assignment the Driver will not receive any of the month’s designated Incentive Stipend.

Approved, August 8, 2016

Larry Bergeson

Superintendent, Washington County School District