The start of school all over the Texas Panhandle is in less than 2 weeks.  What happens when kids don't have transportation to get to school?  Most take the bus, so what happens when there's no one to drive the bus?

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It looks like the Borger Independent School District is facing this problem.

The Hutchinson County Mugshots shared a post yesterday evening that suggested the bus drivers walked off the job.

The post stirred up quite a bit of conversation:

Just to let everyone know I got this from an anonymous source. All our (Borger) school bus drivers just walked out. The school district refuses to pay them what the other districts around the Panhandle make.

Many individuals expressed concerns that the salaries of school bus drivers had not been adjusted to reflect inflation and overall increased in costs of living. School bus drivers hold a special class of CDL, all school bus drivers must get this special certification before they are hired.

One commenter said that she had just spoken with the school district and they had been unaware of the walk-off.

But soon after the post, Borger ISD Board Member Eric Schneck confirmed on Wednesday, August 3rd in a Facebook comment stating,

I spoke to the superintendent today.  He has another meeting scheduled with the transportation department tomorrow.  We are working and communicating with the bus drivers to make sure they are paid appropriately for the market.

Many families in our rural areas depend on school transportation to get their children to and from school.

I reached out to the Borger ISD Superintendent's office this morning, August 4th to ask for a comment on the walk-out and unfortunately, they did not have a comment on the situation at this time.

I also reached out to Borger ISD transportation for a comment, but at the time of publication, we had yet to receive an answer.  As soon as we do receive a response will update the article.

UPDATE: August 4, 2022, 1:47 p.m.

Borger ISD Administrators met with our bus drivers this morning to discuss concerns.  The district strives to be competitive with wages in all departments and is open to hearing employee concerns.  We have adjusted pay scales in the past and have worked to make them competitive with other comparable districts.  We are in the process of addressing their concerns at our next board meeting.  Bus drivers are participating in our beginning of the year training.

Our bus drivers said they want to be here, and we are excited to have them!

The Old Ice House in Borger, Texas

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This once-lawless Wild West boomtown is now a quiet town of 13,000 nestled in the Texas Panhandle. Located 40 miles north of Amarillo and 13 miles from Lake Meredith, the city of Borger is your typical small town. Friendly faces and warm greetings will surround you as you stroll down Borger's Main Street--a trip we highly recommend you take at least once in your life time.

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