Palm Beach County school bus drivers, custodians, other employees rally for better pay

The Palm Beach Post | By Wayne Washington | April 22, 2025

Non-instructional staff members of the Palm Beach County School District plan to protest what they describe as intolerably low pay during a rally in front of district headquarters early Wednesday evening, April 23.

The rally is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m., the same time the Palm Beach School Board will be meeting. Non-instructional staff include bus drivers, maintenance workers, food service workers, custodians and other employees who work with disabled students. They are represented by the SEIU Florida Public Services Union, which is negotiating with the school district for a new contract.

“Wednesday’s action is necessary because non-instructional staff in Palm Beach County Schools have been consistently undervalued and underpaid for far too long,” said Afifa Khaliq, the union’s chief of staff. “The school district — and the state — have failed to demonstrate a real commitment to protecting the most disadvantaged and essential workers in our schools.”

The district disputed that contention in a statement.

“The School District of Palm Beach County greatly values the important work of our non-instructional staff as important members of Team Palm Beach,” the statement read. “We deeply appreciate the daily contributions of our entire team that make us ‘A’ rated.”

Palm Beach County School District says it ‘relies on market data’ to keep pay competitive

The district said it relies on market data to make pay adjustments and remain “as competitive as our budget allows.”

Palm Beach County’s school district, like districts across the state, is facing the potential loss of tens of millions from state budget cuts in the upcoming fiscal year. And federal budget cuts could strip away hundreds of millions more in the years after that if the U.S. Department of Education is closed and the funding it provides is not continued.

School board members have described the current state budget situation, which could bring cuts of as much as $47 million, as grim.

The district’s statement noted that it has provided SEIU members with raises in each of the past several years, including a 5% raise in 2024 a 3.5% raise in 2023 and an 11.9% raise in 2022. In each of the past three years, union members also got a bonus of 3% or $1,500, whichever was greater.

Even with those pay increases, the pay of non-instructional employees remains low — far too low, union officials say, to live independently in increasingly expensive Palm Beach County.

Afifa said many non-instructional employees have a starting annual salary of $21,000, depending on the number of hours the employee is called on to work. The average pay is $28,000 per year for bus drivers, custodians, food service and maintenance workers. Employees who work with disabled students make $23,000 per year, and non-instructional supervisors make an average of $43,000 per year, Afifa said.

Palm Beach County is an expensive place to live

Any of those salaries would make it extremely difficult to afford living in Palm Beach County. In West Palm Beach, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $2,077, according to April figures from apartments.com.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development suggests that households should spend no more than 30% of their gross monthly income on rent. Following that guideline, a person would need to make $6,923 per month to comfortably afford rent in West Palm Beach. That monthly figure would equate to more than $83,000 per year.

Even a rent of $1,500 per month would, if HUD guidelines are followed, require a salary of $60,000 per year.

That’s only a few hundred dollars less than the average pay for teachers in the district, and it’s more than the $53,000 starting salary for teachers. District police officers, meanwhile, start in the mid-60s.

Afifa said non-instructional employees don’t begrudge the pay provided to teachers and police officers, who are represented by their own unions. “I would never go against my union brothers and sisters,” Afifa said, adding that she’d like to see the district raise their pay, too.

But the most pressing pay problem is the low wages offered to non-instructional staff, Afifa said.

As negotiations for a new contract began, SEIU initially asked for a raise of 11.5%. The district countered with a 3% raise. Afifa said the union then sought a $1 per hour increase with a one-time $500 bonus.

A $1 per hour raise would mean an additional $1,920 per year for a 40-hour per week employee. That would be a raise of 6.9% for someone making $28,000 per year.

The district and the union are still negotiating.

School staff resorting to payday loans, moving to mobile homes to make ends meet

Meanwhile, finances remain a big challenge for the district’s non-instructional employees.

A union survey of non-instructional employees conducted last year concluded that “the financial realities for PBCSD employees are stark and urgent.”

About 93% of those who responded to the survey said higher wages is their top priority. The survey found that many employees “face mounting living costs, with 32.8% spending over $2,000 per month on housing and 51.5% requiring assistance to meet these expenses.”

More than 12% of those responding to the survey reported that they had turned to payday loans in the past year to make ends meet.

The survey included personal stories from the employees, several of whom relayed the great difficulty they have had making ends meet on the pay they get from the district. One woman recounted having to move from an apartment to a mobile home. Another, who gave her name only as Liliana, said her role as an assistant “is more than just a job — it’s an extension of who I am.”

Liliana said she loves working with the children, “seeing their smiles and knowing that I’m making a difference in their lives.”

Still, Liliana added, “the physical and emotional toll is immense. This job requires patience, strength, and resilience, and it deserves better recognition. The compensation doesn’t match the effort or the sacrifices we make. Every day, I give my all, but I’m still struggling to support my family. We are worth more than this.”

The district said school board members respect the work of non-instructional employees.

“Routinely, the School Board has advocated for increased state funding in an effort to boost pay for our employees,” the district said. “Our message to all members of our team is simple: We deeply value your contributions, strive to provide competitive pay for all staff and appreciate your ongoing commitment to our students, families, and staff.”