There will be no pay raises next year for employees at Dallas County Schools.
The board at the embattled school bus agency voted Tuesday to hold the line on salaries as the agency struggles to pay its bills.
Board members decided to keep some other pay incentives for bus drivers, fearful without those incentives drivers may leave.
DCS is trying to keep its drivers on board as the agency faces a November vote in Dallas County that could shut DCS down.
Some drivers spoke out at Tuesday's board meeting, saying they are willing to help DCS fight to win that vote despite the problems that have taken their toll on staff.
"Your workforce is depressed. They are in shock. With all that's going on right now, this room should be full. They're losing hope. It's going to take you guys to do what you need to do to show us up, so we can go out there and do the job that we do," said DCS bus driver Alan Jackson.
DCS voted to spend about $80,000 on a forensic audit to figure out what happened to the agency's finances.
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The auditors said they would focus their audit on the school bus camera program and the land deal that have been the focus of a nine-month-long NBC 5 investigation.