BEMIDJI — Around a dozen bus drivers and their supporters turned out to the Bemidji School Board meeting Monday, May 18, as the Bemidji Drivers Association seeks a new contract.
The bargaining unit says they have been working without a contract for nearly a year.
The school district is in mediation with this unit and others as it nears the next fiscal year in July. The district recently reached an agreement with the Bemidji Education Association, contemplated closing a school and has already cut $2.7 million from its budget this spring as it faced more than a $3 million deficit for 2027.
Angela Denny drives bus No. 30 for Bemidji, and has worked as a bus driver, while juggling other jobs, for 15 years.
She said $19,000 a year as a base pay for drivers isn’t enough.
“I love my job and I love my kids, but it's getting to be that we can't afford this job anymore,” Denny said. “How do we keep people in our community doing this job? When I put my kid on the bus, I want to make sure I know her bus driver. When I put my grandson on the bus, I want to know his bus driver.”
During the Monday meeting, Superintendent Jeremy Olson responded to some of the concerns raised, and he also described the process for negotiations.
“We have established a pattern settlement with all other bargaining groups that is consistent with teachers, and our intention is to use the same pattern settlement with our bus drivers,” Olson said. “We certainly appreciate the contributions the bus drivers have made.”
Bemidji bus drivers log more than a million miles in a school year to cover the 825-square-mile district, often carrying as many as four classrooms of students. There are 63 different bus routes, with 54 of those staffed by district drivers.
In a Thursday phone call, Olson confirmed nine routes are covered via a contract with Bemidji Bus Lines.
The Drivers Association is advocating for a better pay scale amid rising health insurance premium costs and inflation.
"The pay progression over 30 years is only 7% for bus drivers,” said driver John Shindelar during the School Board’s public comment period Monday. “The people that had that income 30 years ago — they had huge buying power, and we don't have that today.”
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