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Incentive pay grudgingly kept
By BARBARA BEHRENDT INVERNESS -- The School Board this week reluctantly agreed to extend the incentive pay plan for school bus drivers and food service workers until the end of the school year. The plan pays workers a $100 bonus for each 45-day quarter in which they have perfect attendance. Early numbers from a pilot project with the bus drivers at the end of last year showed that the program more than paid for itself by saving thousands of dollars that otherwise would have been paid to substitute workers. But some board members continue to be troubled by the idea of paying employees for coming to work when they are expected to be at their jobs. Citrus County Education Association president Terry Flaherty was also not a fan of the idea, especially because it singled out two employee groups but left out others, including the teachers and support personnel the CCEA represents. "Far be it for me to take money away from employees . . . but is this a good time for us to have incentive pay to show up for work?" he said. Board member Pat Deutschman voiced her continuing disapproval of the idea. "We give them 10 days paid leave a year and then we pay them for not using it," she said. She suggested that the district find alternatives to the program such as possibly giving employees pay for unused days at the end of the year or sharing savings from lower substitute costs with the workers. They might also reward drivers for fewer discipline problems on their buses. "The other problem I have with this is that we have designed a solution and we have not yet identified the problem," Deutschman said. "If the bus drivers are telling us . . . that working conditions are the reason why they don't always come to work then that is where we need to focus our attention." Once a worker misses one day, "your incentive is instantly gone" to come every day for the rest of the quarter, Deutschman said. Board member Ginger Bryant argued that there was an important reason to use whatever worked in order to keep drivers at their jobs. "If you have the same driver on a bus every day, day in and day out, you have a safer bus ride," she said. "We dislike the idea of giving someone a bonus for something they're already paid to do," said board chairwoman Patience Nave. Transportation supervisor Linda Fultz reminded the board that the program had saved the district $14,000 in substitute expenses. "The program has been successful in my department," she said. Superintendent David Hickey argued that incentive plans are in place in private industry and he said he and his staff are looking for other more acceptable options to encourage attendance by all employees. "It's hard for us to approve it if it's not done for teachers and administrators," said board member Sandra "Sam" Himmel. "It's so hard for me to approve this, when you're getting paid and we're going to pay you again for coming to work." For employees who miss days for a genuine health reason, it is almost like a penalty. "I just don't think this is fair to the entire district," Himmel said. Deutschman suggested that the program might be extended just to the end of the current quarter but she could not get enough support for that idea. Ultimately, the incentive plan for the drivers passed by a 3-to-2 vote with Deutschman and Himmel voting no. By the time the board took up the same issue for food service workers, board member Carol Snyder had had to leave the meeting. The board was then faced with a possible deadlock in approving the program for food service staffers. Deutschman said she was even more opposed to this idea because there was even less information about the concerns of the food service workers and why there were so many absences among their ranks. Mary Curry, executive director of management services, turned to Deutschman and Himmel who had voted no to the other plan. "I plead with one of you to vote with the rest of them so we don't have to come back next time," she said. Himmel said she would change her vote only because it wasn't fair to give it to one group and not the other. When the vote did come, Himmel did vote in favor and Deutschman voted no. But the board finished its discussion by again urging administrators to bring them other ideas that would accomplish the same goals and be more palatable. Hickey said his staff is looking at options but noted that the problem of finding employees who would do the jobs was widespread. "We are going to be looking at options," he said. -- Staff writer Barbara Behrendt can be reached at behrendt@sptimes.com or 564-3621.
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