Full-time bus drivers working for Tomball ISD will now be paid at least $25 per hour, after trustees approved a compensation increase during their Nov. 11 meeting.

Superintendent Martha Salazar-Zamora said during trustees’ Nov. 10 workshop meeting that the district has had challenges with bus driver shortages and filling driver positions.

“I think that this [increase] will not only help us keep the people; it’s a retention, but also a recruitment tool,” Salazar-Zamora said Nov. 10.

The new pay increases go into effect Nov. 15, district officials said.

The details

According to information from Salazar-Zamora and the district, the salary bumps raise starting pay for:

• Full-time drivers from $19.10 per hour to $25 per hour
• Driver trainees from $18 per hour to $20 per hour
• Driver substitutes from $19.10 to $22 per hour
• Non-commercial driver license drivers from $14.04 to $17 per hour

“This is a little bit out of the norm. We don’t tend to do this at this time of the year, out of the budget cycle,” Salazar-Zamora said. “But this was something ... I, as superintendent, challenged the team to find a way to make it happen, called [the team] and said, ‘It’s rough out there and if we don’t get this to where it needs to be, I’m afraid we’re going to lose more quality staff people.'”

Zooming out

In nearby Magnolia ISD, trustees approved a pay increase for bus drivers during their Oct. 27 meeting, raising the starting pay rates to $23.25 per hour, Community Impact previously reported.