By Mike Donahue

Moapa Valley Progress

Fourteen Clark County School District (CCSD) buses scheduled to deliver some 1,300 local kids daily to and from the four area schools successfully completed the first week of school without a hitch. And Doug Geller, CCSD assistant director of transportation, said he expects local school buses and drivers to continue successfully and safely delivering their precious cargo for the rest of the year. Additionally, most of the drivers with whom the school kids were familiar last year are the same drivers they are seeing this year with a couple of exceptions.

Last year there were 16 drivers responsible for the 14 regular CCSD bus routes in the Moapa and Moapa Valley area. Two extra drivers were used for added board routes, which are routes covering driver absences as well as field trips and travel for sporting events, Geller said.

In July, because of the looming budget crisis, CCSD had a reduction in force (RIF) for the local area and five of the 16 drivers were essentially laid off.

Typically, when there is a transportation RIF, drivers can seek comparable employment elsewhere in the district, Geller said. For example, a driver may seek, and be offered, a job in food service or some other department and thereby continue working for the district.

Although Geller said there was no guarantee, when local drivers were cut in July they were advised they may be offered their jobs back when school started for the 2011-12 year.

“The way it works is that if a driver is RIF’ed, then they have a right to return provided there is an opening and that driver hasn’t already accepted employment elsewhere in the district,” Geller continued. “If a driver goes to work in another department, they forfeit their right to return.”

Geller said that at the end of August, all five of the local RIF’ed drivers were offered substitute CCSD transportation employment in the Moapa Valley area.

“Although there are rumors to the contrary, those who take a temporary sub position don’t hurt their right to return chances and that’s what happened in Moapa Valley,” he said.

Three drivers returned, one had another job somewhere else and one was working elsewhere in the district, Geller said.

“On Sept. 2, the three drivers who came back were given their regular full time jobs back at one of the 14 regular routes,” Geller said.