On January 23, 2018 The Irving School Board met to vote to approve a school bus contractor. Irving ISD drivers and monitors realized this would be their last chance to tell the School District what they wanted from a private school bus company and 21 Drivers and Monitors came to the board meeting to do just that. The Irving service center Steward and Local 100 Vice President Ruby Ross addressed the board and made it clear that the Irving drivers and monitors were being courted by other school districts and transportation companies and that if the Irving ISD expected to be able to provide enough drivers for the privately owned bus company they intended to contract with they should see to it that the private company didn’t cut their pay or reduce their benefits, They also asked to keep the same seniority and work 8 hours per day. There is a critical shortage of school bus drivers in North Texas and it seems that the school district is passing these demands on to First Student, the contracted company. The drivers and monitors will meet with the company this week.
