CHARLES COUNTY, Md. — After days of no-shows and planned "sickouts" leaving many Charles County Public Schools students stranded on bus routes, the school board has finally reached an agreement with the bus drivers' union, officials said in a statement.
Charles County School Board held a meeting with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) on Tuesday morning and negotiated a 4% raise. The raise will go into effect with the Dec. 10 pay period, officials said.
The school board said only staff members who fall under either a Unit III or Unit IV position that is covered by the AFSCME and CCPS contracted bus drivers and attendants will receive the 4% cost-of-living adjustment or COLA adjustment.
A list of eligible support staff employees can be found here. Employees can also reach out to CCPS's Office of Human Resources to see if they are eligible for the raise.
Board of Education Chairperson Latina Wilson said this is a step in the right direction for CCPS to ensure support staff are earning competitive wages.
“The MAG study was a tool for CCPS to analyze how our support staff are paid. Results of the study are being used to drive decisions about competitive compensation and classification of support staff members, including those who do not directly provide instruction to our students but support the children in Charles County in various roles daily. The Board is committed to ensuring that all CCPS employees receive a fair and competitive salary, and this one-time COLA adjustment is reflective of that commitment by the Board to our staff,” Wilson said.
This comes after Charles County officials warned parents of "bus interruptions" last week into this week due to what they said was a rumored "sick-out."
Dozens of school bus driver routes were affected in the county where local bus drivers called in sick or didn't report routes, according to the school system and a driver who spoke with WUSA9. Superintendent of Schools, Maria Navarro, even recommended that parents consider alternate plans for getting kids to school.
A driver told WUSA9 that their Charles County coworkers planned refused to work their routes while voicing their concerns.