STREETSBORO, Ohio — In an effort to attract more substitute school bus drivers, a school district here is moving forward with a 4% pay raise.

In a July 10 meeting, the Streetsboro City Schools board approved a new pay rate of $14.50 per hour for sub drivers, up $0.59 from the previous rate of $13.91 per hour.

During the board meeting, Streetsboro Superintendent Michael Daulbaugh said that the district was “having a very difficult time getting sub bus drivers.” When Transportation Supervisor Brandy Hollis came on board in March, she did some research and found that Streetsboro had the lowest pay in the region for substitute school bus drivers.

The increase, Daulbaugh said, makes Streetsboro competitive with several other districts in the area, although he described it as a “starting point” in the endeavor to attract more sub drivers.

“We can see if this works for us, but I would anticipate next summer possibly coming to you and saying maybe do another increase,” Daulbaugh told the school board.

The pay raise for substitute drivers comes after a school year in which the district experienced high absenteeism due to illness among drivers and other district staff, Daulbaugh said. Because of that, some school bus runs had to be combined, and Hollis as well as the district’s mechanic had to fill in as drivers almost on a daily basis.

“We really don’t want those two out as drivers,” Daulbaugh told the school board.

Last year, Streetsboro City Schools had about six substitute school bus drivers, three of whom were intermittent. The district has a total of 21 school bus routes.

Hollis told School Bus Fleet that she's hoping to hire three additional full-time substitutes who would be available daily to drive routes and field trips.