Rockford Public Schools, bus drivers have a tentative new deal. Here's what it entails

Rockford Public Schools bus drivers will see their starting wage go up by several dollars if the Rockford School Board approves a tentative three-year pact negotiated earlier this month.

AFSCME Local 1275, which represents the school district's 184 bus drivers, has agreed to a deal that brings new bus drivers in at $19 an hour, $20 an hour once they pass a three-month probationary period, followed by a 25-cent cost of living wage increase each year for the next three years.

The increase amounts to a 27.5% pay boost for new drivers and sizable increases for those already on the job.

"We have several employees that were bumped up from $15 an hour to $20 an hour, which will make a big difference in their lives," said AFSCME Council 31 Representative Sara Dorner.

Since the pandemic, RPS, like many school districts around the country, has found it difficult to recruit and retain people to take on the responsibility of transporting the city's children to and from school. The staffing shortage sometimes leads to rotating route cancellations where transportation falls on parents or delays.

More: Rockford Public Schools still unable to run buses for all students

Dorner said the school district approached the union in May proposing to not only renegotiate the last year of the bus drivers' contract, which expires June 30, 2024, but also possibly extend the agreement.

Less than two months later, the union has ratified a new contract that would go into effect retroactively from July 1 to June 20, 2026.

"We came to a pretty awesome agreement that we think will work for us and the students," Dorner said.

"One thing that I thought was really great about this particular deal, is it recognizes a bus driver's years of experience, both with the school district and before they came to school district."

The new agreement, Dorner said, contains provisions that recognizes and rewards longtime employees, as well, allowing them to see pay bumps at seven years.

Steven Bivens, 46, of Rockford has been a bus driver in the district for two years. He said he was considering moving his wife and kids to Savannah, Georgia, in search of a livable wage.

"I looked it up, and bus drivers down there are making $21.61," he said.

Pending board approval, Bivens will see his wage increase from $15.66 to $20 per hour.

"This will be the biggest raise I've ever got," he said.

Wage increases will not be diminish by increased costs for health insurance, Dorner said, another added bonus of the pending deal.

Two people who helped negotiate the contract on behalf of the school district, Chief Financial Officer Greg Brown, declined to comment, and Director of Operations Michael Phillips, could not be reached.

The agreement is expected to go before the school board for a vote at its Aug. 15 meeting.

Chris Green: 815-987-1241; cgreen@rrstar.com; @chrisfgreen

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford Public Schools, bus drivers have reached tentative agreement