All four of the Ravenswood City School District's bus drivers called in sick on Friday morning, Feb. 11, as their representative, the California School Employees Association (CSEA), negotiates with the district over pay. Some students who didn't get the message were left waiting at bus stops, according to an East Palo Alto City Council member.

The district, which made an offer to CSEA to during negotiations on Tuesday, Feb. 15, notified families early Friday morning that it wouldn't provide bus services to its Menlo Park and East Palo Alto schools for the day, said Will Eger, the district's chief business officer. Bus service was back to usual on Monday, Feb. 14, Superintendent Gina Sudaria said in an email.

It's the district's understanding that the drivers' action was related to labor negotiations, Eger said. The sick-out was not sanctioned by CSEA, which represents about about 125 employees: bus drivers, food service workers, maintenance staff and other non-teaching positions, administrators noted.

The CSEA chapter's president couldn't be reached for comment.

The district granted teachers a "historic" 10% raise in November, retroactive to July 1. The district aimed to bring educators' salaries on par with other nearby school districts.

The starting salary for bus drivers in the district is $25.99 per hour and they can make up to $31.38 an hour, according to the CSEA salary schedule.

District bus drivers made between $51,230 and $59,343 in 2019, with some pulling in about half their pay with overtime work, according to Transparent California, which provides compensation information for public employees in the state.

The CSEA signaled earlier in the week to the district's director of operations, Delma Camacho, that the drivers might stage a sick-out. It was confirmed on Friday morning, according to Eger.

"The district asked the police department to watch students who may have been waiting at the bus stops if some families did not get the message," Sudaria said. Attendance was slightly lower on Friday districtwide, at 82% compared to the average daily attendance of 90%, Eger noted.

East Palo Alto City Council member Antonio Lopez expressed displeasure that the students were "used as collateral" in labor negotiations. Some students didn't get the message in time and were stuck at bus stops, he said.

"They've been through enough," he said, adding that he understands the high cost of living in Silicon Valley and said there's "no question everybody should be paid a decent wage."

"There's been so much of a disruption of learning (because of the pandemic) and they do their best to learn given the circumstances. There are wiser ways of going about it," he said. "I urge that it be nipped in the bud for the sake of the kids."