ST. LANDRY PARISH — Bus drivers in St. Landry Parish took their frustrations to the sidewalk Monday morning, staging a peaceful protest outside the St. Landry Parish School Board after voters rejected two school tax propositions during the May 16 election.
The proposed measures would have helped fund raises for school employees, including bus drivers, while also supporting school security and infrastructure improvements.
Several drivers chose not to operate their routes Monday and instead gathered with signs outside the school board office, saying they feel underpaid, overlooked and frustrated after the failed vote.
“We feel like the community let us down,” said Belinda Stevenson, president of the St. Landry Parish Bus Association. “We have depended on the community to show up for us, and they continue to fail us. At this point we are coming together, taking a stand, because we’re demanding change.”
Stevenson said the protest was not meant to target students, but rather to highlight the role bus drivers play within the school system.
“We had several buses that did not run this morning,” Stevenson said. “It’s not to hurt the children. We just wanted them to see how important it is to have that part of the system not show up — to see how important we are to the system.”
Drivers also pointed to concerns about aging buses and school facilities, saying the failed propositions would have helped improve conditions for both employees and students.
“That funding would have helped make improvements to some of the schools and the buses that we travel on,” Stevenson said. “We do it because we have to, but we do it with pride. We could use well-deserved improvements on the buses.”
Retired bus operator Leslie Brown, who spent 28 years driving in St. Landry Parish, joined the demonstration in support of current drivers. Brown said bus operators are often under appreciated despite the responsibilities they carry every day.
“I’m recently retired, but the bus driver is very important to the system because we are the first people the kids see in the morning and the last they see in the evening,” Brown said. “We go through a lot throughout the day with our kids and our schedules.”
Stevenson said drivers plan to continue pushing for change and hope their message leads to more support from the community and school leaders moving forward.
“We’re here to stand 10 toes down and let them know that we’re not accepting no anymore from the community,” Stevenson said. “We’ve depended on the community several times to show up for us and they have failed us again, so we’re going to stand together united and demand change.”
For now, drivers say their fight is about more than pay — it is about recognition, support and improving conditions for employees and students across the parish.
Stevenson says they plan to have another sick out Tuesday at central office and also plans to organize more at the start of the 2026-2027 school year.
KATC did reach out to the St. Landry Parish school district about the matter, but have not heard back.
