Manatee County, Fla. (WFLA) – Thursday marked the last day of the schools for students in Manatee County.
As a thank you, the bus drivers got a special send-off when they went to pick up students on their route.
Manatee County has a special tradition that takes place on the first and last days of school. A group of school board members, managers and staff gather to wave and cheer the bus drivers on the way out.
This tradition is something the district has been doing for 10 years.
“Our first bus runs around 4:30am, and they’re all on the road, usually by 6:30am,” interim coach Kevin Chapman said. “Then we’ll have a break and they’ll come back and do it again in the afternoon.”
Drivers of each bus met cheers, waves and lights on the last day of school.
“It’s a tough job to get out on these roads here and deal with traffic, and maybe the 50 kids behind them are singing, hopefully reading.
Jamie Warrington, the district’s traffic director, is the former bus driver himself, and said it’s not an easy job and it’s a bit of appreciation that goes a long way.
“I hope that our leadership did something like this when I was a driver because I was the driver because I was the driver. We try to do things all year round,” he said.
Chapman said the driver is a group of people who love children.
“We have a lot of people who want to retire, love their kids and go to the bus. It’s a bit of a job, so we’re grateful for that,” he said.
The administrator said he has just raised the payroll of bus operators to $23 an hour, and hopes that this will help fill around 25 positions before the next school year begins.
“I’m watching over the summer, it’s our heavy hiring time and we’re looking, and hopefully we’ll hire those drivers, have them on board and be ready to go in August,” Warrington said.
In addition to this postponement, Chapman said he does different things for bus operators throughout the year, but it’s the best way to put together the 2024-2025 academic year.
“We’re going to knock on another accident, wood, but there were no serious cases, so we’re grateful for what an amazing grade, what a great grade, and for the hard work they and the team finished the grade,” Chapman said.
About 100 bus drivers and their bus aides got a special send-off when they visited the road to pick up students.
