The possibility of coaches driving buses on athletic trips wasconsidered by the Lincoln County School Board during Monday’smeeting.

No decision was reached, but the board requested SuperintendentPerry Miller look into the possibilities and present them with moreinformation at the next meeting on June 16.

The subject first came up when acting District 1 Board MemberKay Coon suggested the board consider the action at the Maymeeting. There was a brief discussion at that meeting, but no planswere made.

Coon requested the board consider the motion during Monday’smeeting, Miller said.

“On their athletic trips, sometimes it is hard for us to find abus driver,” he said.

Coon’s suggestion was that each coach be required to obtain acommercial driver’s license (CDL) and keep it current, Miller said.The coaches could then do the driving, eliminating the need for abus driver.

The board agreed they needed to do some research for adopting apolicy, though, because it may not be cost effective, Millersaid.

“If we require them to get their licenses, the district wouldhave to pay for their license,” he said. “It may be fairlyexpensive to pay for those licenses for every coach.”

The board also considered the possibility of requiring only thehead coach and one assistant coach to get a license.

According to Department of Public Safety Driver’s LicenseExaminer Sandra Britt, the cost of a CDL for a bus driver would beabout $80 each with a $45 renewal fee every four years. The costcould increase if the district chose to add additional endorsementsto the licenses to make the coaches eligible to drive othervehicles as well.

Miller was instructed by the board to investigate how much itwould cost the district to get CDLs for each of the coaches andreport back at the next meeting with his recommendation.