After 3 years, I am now unqualified to do my job.

After 3 years, I am now unqualified to do my job.

Back in 2019, I(38F) started a Call Center Clerk job with School Transportation. The position did not require a CDL as most positions in the department did and it seemed like a standard office do-it-all that I enjoyed. Data entry, Spreadsheets, and Memos, that my jam. It is a salary-paid job which means I do not get paid overtime in money form,, it goes to a time bank of sorts.

Well, that quickly changed due to lack of staff, I became the unofficial Lead Dispatcher which I was very uncomfortable with. Imagine Jess from New Girl navigating bus drivers around town, having teachers and coaches call about late buses, it was not what I was hired to do but over time I have become a pillar if I do say so myself. It is a hard job with very little appreciation. Yes, teachers and schools need more support, but the janitors, lunch staff, bus drivers, and other operations essential to a safe and successful school day are often ignored. I want to add that I take medication for BPD and have adjusted my meds several times to be able to work successfully in a position I learned to love. The nature of the job requires me to work 12–13-hour days sometimes which again, I do not get paid for, it goes into a time bank.

The department got a new director last year (Mr.S) and since then, the department has gotten worst. Veteran drivers and staff that have been there, as long as I have been alive, are commenting on how it’s never been this bad.

Over the summer, my pay and position title did not change, as I was led to believe it would AND I was required to take all my banked time off when they wanted. I decided that I would not work anything over an 8-hour day and that after the school year settled down, I would have to talk to him about my pay.

The first week of school and all staff is to come in at 6:30 am. My scheduled shift is 10 am to 7 pm so I tell him NO and explain to him that 1. I don’t get paid overtime 2. I was forced to take my bank time when the district wanted. 3. No one else is required to work from 6 am to 7 pm. He replied that if I need to take a 3-hour lunch then I could but was still expected to be there at 6 am. I was there and took my 3-hour lunches but this is not a good way to start the school year.

Friday, Mr.S., my direct supervisor, and I have a meeting and I am told that unless I get a CDL, he cannot pay me the Dispatcher pay which is hourly, and would be able to get overtime.

So, the job that I was forced into, was not the one I was hired for, but still, after 3 years of learning and growth and building relationships. A position that I like now that I do damn well, that drivers have told me You’re the best Dispatcher we’ve ever had, and it's because I speak to them with kindness, I have ice pops at the end of a hot day. I am Jess for New Girl in a place where a bit of kindness and glitter was needed but The Call Center Clerk position no longer exists. under the new Dispatcher requirements, I must get a CDL.

I feel heartbroken. The closest feeling, I can compare to it is being dumped. All the talk about, loyalty and appreciation, and leadership applied to everyone but me. I came in early, I stayed late, I covered shifts, if I could do it, I did it but I can’t drive a bus so now I mean nothing. I can’t argue because all office staff is now expected to and most office staff do but even if I wanted my CDL, I would not pass the physical or mental test it requires.

I told him that I was taking the rest of the day off. I don’t think it would sit well with the staff to see me crying and being human, I was upset. I don’t know anyone who could listen to their boss tells you you are not getting paid what you are worth. You are now not worthy of this department without a CDL.

I have applied for a secretary position at another location. It is now clear that I have no future in Transportation

Advice? Comments? Suggestions? Words of Encouragement?