The Greene County Board of Education spent about three-quarters of an hour Thursday discussing a South Greene High School bus driver's complaint that he and other regular "route drivers" are being deprived of the chance to earn extra money by driving school buses on field trips and athletic trips.

After a lengthy discussion, board member Rex Hopson offered a motion to change board policy to allow only those who drive regular school bus routes to drive school buses on field trips and trips to athletic events.

The county school board took no action after the motion failed for lack of a second.

James Wilhoit, a school bus driver assigned to South Greene High School, had been allotted five minutes early in the meeting to present his grievance to the board.

At the outset of his remarks, Wilhoit asked if he could have a few more minutes to present his case, but County School Board Chairman Kathy Crawford told Wilhoit he could not exceed the five-minute limit.

Wilhot told the board he had been told he would work 20 hours a week for driving a school bus on its regular route when he transferred to South Greene High from Chuckey Elementary.

He noted that while assigned to Chuckey Elementary, he often had driven his bus on field trips.

But once he arrived at SGHS, Wilhoit said, he found that a school custodian was driving the school bus on field trips and athletic trips and that he was not allowed to drive his bus for such events.

Wilhoit told the board that he was routinely not getting paid for 40 hours for a two-week period and sometimes had been paid for as few as 12 hours.

"It's hard to put food on the table when you're paid for just 12 hours," he said.

Wilhoit also said he did not believe the South Greene custodian, who was driving the bus to athletic events and field trips, was doing so without compensation.

Wilhoit also said he believes there is a safety problem with allowing coaches and custodians to drive school buses.

He quoted an unnamed Department of Safety representative as telling bus drivers during a training session that coaches sometimes may not have their minds on driving because they are thinking about an upcoming game.

In response, Director of Schools Dr. Joe Parkins pointed out that the position of school bus driver is a part-time position and that school bus drivers normally are paid for working four hours per day (two hours each morning and two hours each afternoon) while school is in session.

When school is out for holidays and breaks, he said, drivers are not paid.

Parkins also said that the position of school bus driver is one of the few part-time positions of which he is aware in which the employee can receive medical benefits, if he or she works 30 hours per week.

In addition, Parkins told the school board that he "applauds" schools for trying to save money by using volunteer drivers, such as coaches and custodians who have obtained commercial drivers licenses, to drive buses on athletic trips and field trips.

School board member David Johnson said that board members value the contributions of school bus drivers but had to keep in mind that they are "stewards of taxpayers' money."

'It's not our money," he said.

Johnson went on to say that due to the high cost of providing bus transportation, he had no doubt that most board members would vote to do away with bus transportation altogether were it not a state and federal requirement.

Board member Richard Morrison told his fellow board members that he understands that West Pines Elementary School also uses a volunteer driver for field trips and athletic events to save money.

Other county schools likely do as well, Morrison said.

Dr. Parkins said the board policy regarding bus drivers on field trips and trips to athletic contests leaves selection of the driver to the individual school principals.

But board member Debra Knight said she found the policy vague. She said she felt all schools should assign bus drivers for field trips and athletic trips in a uniform manner.

In making his motion to require the use of regular school bus drivers on field trips and trips to athletic events, board member Hopson said he felt a second adult also should be required to be on buses taking part in field trips and trips to athletic event.

Hopson recalled an incident last year in which several South Greene High baseball players were suspended from school after they were caught allegedly consuming moonshine on a return trip from an away game with the bus only carrying one adult, the volunteer assistant coach who was driving the vehicle.

Parkins replied that all Greene County buses on regular routes to and from school have only one adult aboard, the driver.

Board member Morrison said that in his 10 years as principal of North Greene High he never had a bus problem during morning hours.

"It was always at night and 90 percent of the time it was on Friday," Morrison said.

But he noted that the worst problem with students on a bus in his experience took place while there were three adults on the bus with the students.

Board member Kathy Austin told the board that the effect of requiring bus drivers to drive on all field trips and trips to athletic events would be to bring about the end of minor sports, which don't generate enough revenue to cover the cost of both paying the cost of using the bus and paying a driver.

She also said she had been told that Mike Taylor, the South Greene custodian who generally drives buses to and from athletic events, had volunteered 111 hours of his time at the school last year and was not paid for driving buses to and from athletic events.

After the school board meeting, Karen Farris, who identified herself as a Nolichuckey school bus driver, said she had previously driven a school bus on athletic trips at South Greene High School for about 10 years, but no longer is allowed to do so.

"I donated my time and charged them nothing for four years, but the trips were taken away from me and given to the custodian," she said.

Farris also said she had brought the problem to the attention of Parkins last year, but that no action had been taken.