Oct. 27—The Aiken County Board of Education approved an incentive for recruitment and retention of bus drivers.

Newly hired regular part-time and full-time drivers will receive a $1,000 bonus. This sign-on bonus will expire Sept. 30, 2022 unless extended.

Aiken County Public Schools Superintendent King Laurence said the new hires would receive $500 closer to the time of their initial hire date and receive another $500 at the completion of their 90-day evaluation

Current employees wouldn't receive a sign-on bonus, Laurence said. Instead "what we are proposing is that we provide a retention bonus for current bus drivers in the amount of up to $2,000 a year, so that would be $500 per quarter."

Current bus drivers who drive 42 of the 45 regular school days in a quarter are eligible for the retention bonus. Current eligible bus drivers would receive $500 for each nine weeks in the 2021-2022 school year, equaling up to a total of $2,000 for the year.

Transportation supervisors and secretaries who meet with requirements are also eligible.

Tray Traxler, chief officer of finance for the Aiken County Public School District, confirmed the pay rate for a bus driver with no experience is $13.86 per hour. Aiken County school bus drivers require a commercial driver's license along with additional bus driver training, said Laurence.

Currently there are 39 open bus driver positions. Due to this shortage, drivers are required to double, and in some cases, triple routes during the morning and afternoon to transport students, according to the Aiken County Public School District website.

For more information, call ACPSD Classified Recruitment and Staffing Specialist Patrick Ott at 803-641-2428 or email at pott@acpsd.net.