Ever thought of a career as a school bus driver? Copperas Cove Independent School District is hiring and making it well worth applying.

Pay Bump for Bus Drivers and Substitutes

KWTX reports that Copperas Cove ISD School Board unanimously approved a pay raise for both school bus drivers and substitute teachers.

Bus Driver Shortage

There's a bus driver shortage happening across the country. In fact, CBS News reports that the National Guard was called in to drive kids to school in Massachusetts.

There's also a substitute teacher shortage happening. Just about everywhere you look, you'll see an overall "worker" shortage, as many people just refuse to get back to work following a year that saw the world basically shut down due to the pandemic.

It's forced employers to up their wages to try and attract people to apply for the jobs. On the one hand, it's great for the prospective employee. Everybody loves to make more money, especially in a world where every penny counts. On the other hand, some employers have had to shut down their business because they can't afford to hire people. Such is business in a post-pandemic world.

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Copperas Cove ISD Is Hiring

If you're in-need of a good paying job, Copperas Cove ISD may have one for you: driving a bus.

They've just raised the hourly rates for bus drivers from $14.65 per hour to $18 per hour. Plus, you can get a $250 incentive after working 30 consecutive workdays in a semester for the 2021-2022 school year. You can also get a $200 referral incentive if you help recruit a driver who stays on the job for six consecutive months.

Bus Driver Benefits

Gary Elliott, CCISD Director of Transportation, says, “Being a school bus driver may be one of the most underrated jobs out there, think about it; they are entrusted with the important task of taking the community’s most precious cargo to and from school every day to learn. It’s a respectable role, and it comes with more-than-respectable benefits.” 

The benefits include a free employee-only health plan. Plus you'll work a guaranteed minimum of five hours per day. Not a bad gig at all. The district will even pay for the Class B Commercial Drivers’ License you'll need after one full year of employment.

They Have Standards

Of course there are a few other details to know like a background check, driver record history, annual physical, P&S endorsements, and complete a 20-hour Department of Public Safety certification class.

Subs Needed Too

As mentioned above, CCISD is also looking for substitute teachers. That position will also see a pretty substantial pay raise. Depending on degree or no degree, substitute teachers can bring in anywhere from $105 per day to $180 per day.

Lots of great paying opportunities are available at Copperas Cove Independent School District. Click HERE to find out more about these jobs.

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A while back, I asked the good people of Temple if they could picture a good restaurant to fill the lot on North General Bruce Drive where the soon to be torn down Long John Silver's stood.

This was before it was announced that a Dutch Bros. Coffee location would open there (which was one of the places I predicted as a contender in our article).

So now Dutch Bros. is open in that spot, but the responses to my survey were interesting because they paint a picture of just how diverse Temple's population is. People recommended some familiar restaurants with locations in the surrounding area, but also a few I'd never even heard of.

Here are the top 20 results of the survey. Let's see what the good people of Temple are craving!

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