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Injured School Bus Driver Paid To Idle

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By BILLY TOWNSEND, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 25, 2007

Updated: 10/25/2007 12:22 am

News Channel 8 Video Report

BARTOW - Every morning, a hired car picks up Margie Conner at her north Lakeland home and drives her 20 or so miles to Bartow and the school district transportation center. A round trip can cost more than $50.

Once there, the 58-year-old school bus driver reports to a guard shack, where she sits alone doing nothing for nearly six hours - at $11 an hour. Sometimes she reads a book. She gets two 15-minute breaks and uses the bathroom at the main office. At the end of the day, another hired car takes her home.

All this is paid for by Polk County taxpayers, roughly $1,700 so far.

The shack has been Conner's workplace since late September, after she fell outside her school bus and broke her right hand.

'Nobody ever told me to do anything except sit there,' she said.

School district officials say Conner is supposed to be working, but they disagree with each other about what her job description is.

Elaine Rentz, the support services official who sent Conner to the shack, said the bus driver is supposed to be logging traffic that comes and goes from the site. Rentz's boss, support services director Rob Davis, said Conner is only there to answer questions or give directions.

Conner said no one has ever told her to log anything or perform any other work-related task. Rentz did not return several follow-up calls to verify that. Davis said he's never talked to her about her job.

As for directions, Conner said a driver once knocked on the shed door asking how to get to the main office. She pointed to the nearby building.

Conner officially is on 'transitional duty assignment' because of her injury, Davis said, but he said Wednesday, when told of the details, that he needs to deal with it.

'If she's been sitting in there all day not doing anything,' Davis said, 'then we're not providing her adequate supervision. If she's got a problem with her work environment, I've got to work on it.'

'It Still Gets A Little Warm In Here'

The guard shack is the size of a large closet. It has a single chair in the middle of the floor, with a small window unit air conditioner. There are no trees or buildings shading the shack, and someone pasted newspaper to the windows to cut glare and heat.

'It still gets a little warm in here,' Conner said, but her main complaints are the waste of money and the isolation. 'It's like solitary confinement.'

For two years, Conner had been driving a school bus that carried elementary and middle school students in north Lakeland.

'I love my job. I love the kids. I can't wait to get back to driving,' she said.

After finishing her day Sept. 5, Conner dropped off her bus attendant and stopped to get a drink at a convenience store. While there, she said, she tripped on a rock and fell, breaking her right hand. She wears a cast on her right wrist and forearm.

After Conner recuperated at home for about two weeks, she said, Rentz called and asked her to work as an attendant on the bus until she recovered. Conner said she agreed at first but then called Rentz back to say she didn't think that was a good idea.

In the two weeks after breaking her right hand, Conner said, she developed pain in her left hand. She attributes it to overuse. Conner noted that she would need to use her hands to climb into a bus. It's an added strain, she said, because she's overweight.

She offered to work as a phone receptionist, but Rentz was concerned that writing messages would cause her pain, Conner said.

For the first few days of shack duty, Conner drove herself the 20 miles from north Lakeland to Bartow and back. She drove using her left hand, but as pain developed from the use, she feared she would cause an accident. Her doctor ordered her not to drive.

That's when the school district arranged for private transportation.

One of the drivers, Carmine Cuomo, said he was paid $53.50 for a round trip.

Rentz, the support services official, told The Tampa Tribune that working inside the shack is a way for bus drivers who can't drive or work as attendants to continue getting a paycheck while they recuperate.

Transitional Duty

Davis said there are other examples of transitional duty. At the complex where Conner is stationed, an injured custodian is monitoring the fuel depot, helping out where he can.

People return to work status faster, Davis said, if they are assigned to transitional jobs.

The school district does not question Conner's injuries, Davis said. Conner has received treatment under workers' compensation, she said.

But Conner said the assignment makes her feel like she is being punished for being hurt.

Davis says she is not.

Conner said her wrists are improving but still hurt. Friends and her boyfriend help her at home.

One of her friends first contacted the Tribune about the shack duty, and Conner said she's worried her concerns might hurt her long-term job prospects with the school district. But she also said she thinks the public needs to know about it.

As of this morning, Conner was still in her routine - a free ride to work and another shift in the shack. She's been reading a Robin Cook book.

'I guess this is just where I am until I'm better.'

Reporter Billy Townsend can be reached at (863) 284-1409 or wtownsend@tampatrib.com.

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