The Cumberland County school system is among several school districts dealing with school bus drivers who want higher pay. The numbers vary day-to-day, but on a typical morning this month, a school district spokesman said 315 buses picked up children. Normally, 438 buses operate morning routes.

Last Tuesday, more than 100 school bus drivers called in sick and did not show up for their shift in protest. Some drivers from other schools were able to assist schools without drivers. School buses usually take as many as 17,000 students to school each morning. The current starting pay for all bus drivers is $12.21. Superintendent Marvin Connelly Jr. said that there will need to be an annual $6 million budget they can set aside before drivers can receive a raise.

The Cumberland County Board of Education will be holding an emergency meeting on Nov. 17 at 8:30 a.m. to discuss "recent employee compensation and working condition concerns and to address additional recruitment and retention employee bonuses and to update the 2017 Compensation Study." That meeting will be live-streamed on their YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/user/CumberlandCoSch/videos