Aila Boyd
aboyd@mainstreetnewspapers.com
The Craig County School Board approved an updated pay scale for car drivers during its Dec. 16 meeting, adopting changes intended to better align compensation with the amount of time drivers spend transporting students each day.
Under the revised structure, Craig County Public Schools will move away from a flat daily rate that paid car drivers $60 per day for any full route or $30 for a half day, regardless of route length. School officials said a review of current schedules and total daily driving hours showed a need for a more time-based system.
The new pay scale, effective Nov. 1, 2025, sets compensation as follows: $30 per day for routes lasting one hour or less; $60 per day for routes lasting between 61 minutes and four hours; and $15 per hour for routes exceeding four hours.
School officials emphasized that the division’s goal remains to limit car driver routes to no more than four hours per day. Craig County Public Schools will continue to monitor route lengths, and drivers are encouraged to report routes that regularly exceed the four-hour threshold to the director of transportation.
Payroll changes associated with the new scale will be applied automatically beginning with the November pay period.
The motion to approve the updated pay scale was made by Vice Chair Darren Gilreath of the Simmonsville District and seconded by Faye Powers of the Potts Mountain District.
School administrators thanked transportation staff for their ongoing commitment, noting that the revised pay scale is intended to recognize the professionalism of car drivers and support the safe, timely transportation of students throughout the county.
