Real news. Real stories. Real voices.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Supported by
We are currently undergoing maintenance with our HD transmitters for 88.9 KNPR-FM and 89.7 KCNV-FM. We apologize for the inconvenience. If you are experiencing any issues listening, you can stream our stations using the player on this site, the NPR app or on your smart speaker.

Las Vegas school district hikes bus driver pay to fill staff gap

Superintendent Jesus Jara
AP Photo/John Locher
Superintendent Jesus Jara speaks during a news conference at Dean Petersen Elementary School, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021, in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The school district for metro Las Vegas is raising pay for new and current school bus drivers by at least 40% to try to reduce its pandemic-exacerbated staff shortage.

The sprawling Clark County School District with 366 schools usually operates almost 1,600 bus routes but has about 240 school bus driver vacancies.

Under raises announced earlier this month, current hourly pay for new hires will rise from $15.36 to $21.67 while the higher rates for experienced drivers will rise from just under $20 to just over $29, the Las Vegas Sun reported.

Sponsor Message

The higher pay reflects more of what the position is, said Jennifer Vobis, CCSD’s executive director of transportation. “There’s a lot of responsibility in that job,”

Within the past year, the district approved recruitment and retention bonuses for drivers, on top of $2,000 bonuses for all CCSD employees who worked during the coronavirus pandemic.