Martucci and School Bus Industry Praise Hochul’s School Bus Driver Retention Initiativez: 654 needs edit
Albany, N.Y. – Senator Mike Martucci and the school bus industry today thanked Governor Hochul for including help for school districts struggling to meet their transportation and teaching needs. Governor Hochul included in her State of the State message a proposal similar to Senator Martucci’s bill, S.7393, which calls for eliminating the earnings cap for state retires who opt to work as school bus drivers and teachers. The proposal, first introduced by Senator Martucci, will help school districts struggling with school bus driver shortages recruit and retain needed drivers. The legislation is also strongly supported by the New York Association for Pupil Transportation, private school bus contractors, and retirees across the state.
“New York’s schools continue to face major shortages of school bus drivers and the industry has forecasted that the problem will only get worse going into next year,” said Senator Mike Martucci (R-C-I, Hudson Valley/Catskills). “The state’s retirement earnings cap is a significant impediment to retirees who want to drive a school bus and it’s clear something needs to be done to allow our school districts to hire these folks. I am grateful that Governor Hochul has put this proposal in her State of the State; and I look forward to working with her to get it passed as part of her executive budget.”
“Driving a school bus is one of the most important jobs in our state and we are struggling to find enough school bus drivers to do the job each day,” said New York Association for Pupil Transportation executive director David Christopher. “Attracting additional school bus drivers into the workforce is good for school districts and private operators. We believe that lifting the retirement cap is an important step toward solving this problem. We thank Governor Hochul and Senator Martucci for their unwavering commitment to our schools and ensuring we have enough drivers to transport the more than 2.3 million children who ride a yellow school bus each day.”
The acute shortage of school bus drivers was felt across New York last year and in some cases forced schools to shut down because of a lack of reliable transportation for students. At the time Governor Hochul took several positive actions to address this crisis. These actions were strongly supported by school districts and private school bus operators and the adoption of this new proposal would be another significant step in the right direction, helping ensure New York’s children stay where they belong – in school.
“Again, I was thrilled to see this proposal in Governor Hochul’s State of the State policy book, and I thank her for recognizing the struggles of school districts and the school bus industry and working to address them head on. I will be a strong ally for her in the legislature on this issue as we look to expand her proposal to meet the scope of my legislation and look forward to working with her to get my colleagues in the State senate to support it,” said Martucci.
The proposal is a top priority for Senator Martucci and NYAPT and they will work to ensure that it is included in the state’s budget which is due by April 1st.
ABOUT NYAPT: The New York Association for Pupil Transportation (NYAPT) is a statewide organization dedicated to the support, development, and representation of school transportation professionals who are responsible for the safe and efficient transportation of more than 2.3 million school children each day in New York State. NYAPT’s over 600 members comprise school transportation supervisors and professionals from hundreds of school districts across the state.
Mike Martucci serves as the Senator for New York’s 42nd State Senate District which comprises all of Sullivan County and parts of Orange, Ulster, and Delaware counties. He is the ranking member of the Senate Standing Committees on Disabilities and Commerce, Economic Development And Small Business.
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